Mulch company boss previously cautioned by environmental watchdog

One of the directors of the company which supplied mulch to Rozelle Parklands was told to halt operations by the Environmental Protection Authority three years ago.

Domenic Vitocco, son and business partner of AFR richlister Arnold Vitocco, is co-director of Greenlife Resource Recovery which supplied recycling mulch to Rozelle Parklands. The parklands were closed after Transport for NSW confirmed the discovery of asbestos in mulch in 10 areas in the parklands and nearby garden beds.

Rozelle Parkland on its opening day.Credit: Edwina Pickles

The EPA is currently investigating, and it is not yet clear at which point during the recycling, transfer and landscaping process the mulch became contaminated, who is responsible for its contamination, or if more than one mulch supplier was involved.

An EPA spokesperson said the investigation is “complex” and involves “several different lines of inquiry”.

Prior to the establishment of Greenlife Resource Recovery in 2022, Vitocco ran Greenlife Fertilisers, which also recycled organic materials into landscaping supplies such as mulch, sand, pebbles, and aggregate and was subject to an EPA prevention notice in 2021.

The notice issued to Vitocco in July 2021 shows the EPA at the time reasonably suspected that Greenlife Fertilisers was operating a waste storage and/or composting facility without “lawful authority” and in an “environmentally unsatisfactory manner”.

The prevention notice showed EPA officers had observed nearly 30,000 tonnes of mostly landscaping materials at the site from external locations which were being processed, meaning an environmental protection licence was required under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997.

The prevention notice detailed four areas of concern including that the premises had been used as a waste facility without lawful authority and that the volume of waste received and stored contravened the Act.

It also said composting more than 200 tonnes of waste on the site contravened the Act and that the operations had created an offensive odour “not consistent with good environmental practice”.

The notice, issued to Vitocco, directed Greenlife Fertilisers to immediately halt operations, and remove the material by January 2022.

A response to the EPA on behalf of Vitocco at the time said Greenlife Fertilisers was working on a development application (DA) to resolve the unauthorised operations identified by Camden Council and the EPA.

That DA would seek approval for the use of the premises as a resource recovery facility, processing material to be used in landscaping and farming applications.

An EPA spokesperson said the prevention notice was fully complied with in July 2022.

“Our investigations didn’t suggest the presence of contaminants on site, including asbestos, or that any water pollution had occurred, so no testing was required,” the EPA spokesperson said.

The EPA also issued Vitocco with an official caution and a formal warning in July for the delay in complying with the preventative actions in the prevention notice.

A spokesperson for Vitocco said Greenlife Fertilisers was a small, start-up company supplying chicken manure and compost to local farmers.

“The business grew and the owners moved to a licence[d] facility and started selling landscaping supplies. Due to the business’ growth, an EPA notice was given, which required the owners to move to a license[d] facility. This was actioned immediately,” she said.

A spokesperson for Camden Council said the EPA made them aware of the 2021 prevention notice, and that council officers worked with the EPA on the matter.

Greenlife Resource Recovery operates under an Environmental Protection Licence, which is listed on the EPA’s register as being held by VE Resource Recovery, of which Vitocco is also a director.

Vitocco’s spokesperson said Greenlife Resource Recovery rejected all allegations of contamination in Rozelle and was co-operating fully with the EPA investigators.

“Greenlife is co-operating fully with the EPA investigators and has provided all information requested. The EPA has not yet made a statement on its findings. Until the EPA makes a determination no further statements can be provided on this matter,” the spokesperson said.

The EPA labelled the situation an “emergency” in a cleanup notice issued to Transport for NSW on Monday, adding it suspected there was more than 10 tonnes of material containing asbestos at the site. Transport for NSW has been directed to remove all the mulch by February 2, with the park remaining closed until then.

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