State Government cracks down on Toowoomba Regional Council over landfill levy noncompliance
Compliance issues at Toowoomba Regional Council waste facilities targeted in State Government crackdown.
Council
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The State Government has taken the Toowoomba Regional Council to task over compliance issues at its waste management facilities.
A Department of Environment and Science spokesman said routine audits had found the council was managing waste as exempt when it wasn’t provided for in the council’s exemption certificate.
He said the council was also undertaking resource recovery outside of the designated resource recovery area.
The department also found there was a lack of an adequate physical barrier separating the resource recovery area from the rest of the site and there were compliance issues with matters relating to annual volumetric survey requirements.
The spokesman said the department provided a formal warning to the council on December 4, last year, in relation to a number of alleged noncompliances under the Waste Reduction and Recycling Act.
“Landfill facilities in the levy zone may declare areas on site for use as a resource recovery area, within which materials can be recovered without incurring a levy,” the spokesman said.
“There are requirements relating to the management of waste both within and outside the resource recovery areas to ensure accountability for materials that are exempt from the levy.”
The spokesman said it was working with the council to address the matters.
He said Toowoomba was not the only regional council on notice.
“The department is also working with a range of waste facilities across Queensland to ensure compliance with the waste levy,” the spokesman said.
“Over the first two years of levy operation this has included a strong focus on education about the new requirements.”
The council in its 2021 operational plan progress report said it had taken action to ensure future operations were compliant and that no further regulatory action had been taken.
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