EPA Victoria has charged a company based at Truganina and a company director over waste stockpiles at a metals recovery facility at Bandiana in northeast Victoria.

EPA officers inspected the facility run by Immix Integrated Metal Management Pty Ltd and also used a remote piloted drone to inspect the site from the air.  They determined that the company was storing larger quantities of waste than was permitted under its EPA registration.

Under the Environment Protection Act 2017 which took effect in July 2021, waste and resource recovery operators must obtain EPA permissions such as a licence, permit or registration in accordance with the scale of their operation. Immix has a registration that allows it to store up to 5,000 cubic metres of waste, but pictures from EPA’s drone showed the company was exceeding the permitted limit in May and June 2022.

Immix Integrated Metal Management Pty Ltd faces five charges relating to:

• Failing to notify EPA Victoria that the volume of waste stored at its Whytes Rd, Bandiana, premises exceeded the volume allowed under its EPA registration, and
• Conducting a prescribed permit activity at the site without the permit required under the Environment Protection Act 2017

A Director of the company has been charged with four offences related to the company’s actions.

As the matter is now before the courts EPA will be making no further comment.

To learn more about EPA permissions, visit epa.vic.gov.au