A Kilsyth-based timber processor has been fined $20,000 without conviction after an inspection by EPA Victoria found thousands of cubic metres of illegally stored industrial waste on the site.

Planet Safe Timber Pty Ltd, trading as CCA Pine, entered a plea of guilty in Ringwood Magistrates Court, in response to EPA charges of accepting industrial waste without a licence.

EPA officers inspected the company’s Liverpool Rd premises in December 2021 and found thousands of cubic metres of construction and demolition waste.  

They took samples of material from one of the stockpiles, and lab tests revealed it contained three different types of asbestos.

The largest of the stockpiles was U-shaped and measured approximately 80 metres along its base, and the other stockpiles were approximately 10 and 20 metres long.

EPA issued the company with an Environmental Action Notice (EAN), requiring it to remove the industrial waste to a properly licensed facility for safe disposal.

Follow up inspections showed the waste was being removed and had all been cleared by April 2022. The Ringwood Magistrates Court heard that over 8,000m3 of waste removed, and that the cost of the clean-up was more than $1.6 million.

Whether a hazard is there unintentionally or through deliberate criminal enterprise, EPA said it would not hesitate to protect the community and conducts regular and unannounced inspections, scientific testing, and issuing regulatory notices requiring that waste to be taken for proper disposal, fines and prosecutions in court.

All businesses must know their responsibilities and meet them.

There’s advice for businesses on the EPA website epa.vic.gov.au, and members of the public can report pollution by calling EPA’s 24-hour hotline on 1300 372 842 or providing details online at epa.vic.gov.au/report-pollution/reporting-pollution