‘This was inevitable’: Waste rules under spotlight after asbestos found in mulch

The NSW Greens have called for stricter regulations from the Environmental Protection Authority following the discovery of asbestos in mulch across Sydney.

The contaminated mulch has been detected in Rozelle Parklands, at traction substations in Dulwich Hill, Canterbury and Campsie, along the Prospect Highway between Prospect and Blacktown and at a riverside park in Penrith.

The sites have been fenced off by Transport for NSW.

The Rozelle Parklands will reopen gradually from March.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

It’s not clear at what point during the processing and landscaping process the mulch became contaminated.

Greens MLC Sue Higginson said the EPA needed greater oversight on supply chain lines.

“It’s pretty clear that what we’re seeing was inevitable. It was the likely outcome of the system,” she said.

Greens MLC Sue Higginson says the state’s environmental laws need to be tightened. Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

Under EPA NSW legislation, mulch must not contain asbestos, engineered wood products, preservative-treated or coated wood residues, or physical contaminants such as glass or plastics.

Its resource recovery framework, which governs the reuse of materials including natural materials, states that mulch should be visually assessed before mulch generation by someone with suitable qualifications.

Compost and soil, in comparison, need to have samples sent away for laboratory testing with specific levels of contaminants outlined in the framework.

Higginson said testing for contaminants needed to take place early in the recycling and waste management process, and developers excavating large areas of land should be held to more rigorous standards to test any material being sent off for waste management or recycling.

“There’s a fear liability is being placed in the wrong place, with developers on the front end passing liability along,” she said.

Another focus should be tracking the entire supply chain line of materials, she said: “We need a system that has good tracking, modern up-to-date point-in-time monitoring, and stronger liability for when tracking is breached.”

NSW is currently rolling out its new Integrated Waste Tracking Solution to track hazardous and regulated waste. Asbestos is still tracked using the old system. Unlike in Victoria, GPS tracking is not used on waste vehicles that transport asbestos.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said the finding of new sites with asbestos-contaminated mulch was “concerning”.

“It’s been hugely distracting … particularly for families that want to get into parks and public spaces during the school holidays, and I sincerely apologise for it,” he said.

Minns added he would be open to regulatory change should the EPA request it, or the current investigation into the mulch contamination support it.

“At the moment it’s an enforcement and investigation issue, and I’m not convinced that the laws or the statutes won’t be enough,” he said.

NSW Minister for the Environment Penny Sharpe said there should be no asbestos in any mulch product.

“The EPA is doing an investigation into how this has occurred,” she said.

“I am open to changes once we understand what has gone on here.”

Shadow minister for the environment Kellie Sloane called on the state government to release information on the progress of the Office of the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer’s asbestos management review, which was commissioned in December 2022.

“The Minns Labor government has been silent on the progress of this review and should provide assurances by outlining their proposed plans to improve management of asbestos,” she said.

Australia has one of the highest rates of asbestos-related diseases in the world, according to the Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency, and was one of the world’s highest consumers of asbestos per capita until its ban in 2003.

The asbestos detected in mulch across the city is bonded, which is considered low-risk compared with friable asbestos, which can easily be crushed into a powder and become airborne.

The company that provided the mulch to Rozelle Parklands, Greenlife Resource Recovery, denied the contamination came from its product and said the mulch had been independently laboratory tested multiple times and no asbestos had been found.

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