After the fire came the fine

A 28 tonne load of burnt industrial waste at Portland has cost a Horsham company $10,000 after a fire, a call to the pollution hotline and an inspection by EPA Victoria.

Wimmera Mallee Waste Management Pty Ltd has been fined $10,176 for failing to register the truckloads of waste with Waste Tracker, EPA’s tracking system for high risk waste.

The EPA inspection came after firefighters extinguished a burning stockpile of office recycling at the company’s waste transfer facility in Fitzgerald St, Portland, on 5 December 2025.

The operator arranged for the soggy mess of burnt waste to be taken to a landfill but failed to register it with Waste Tracker, the online system that traces loads of Reportable Priority Waste from its creation, through transport, processing and recycling or disposal, making sure it is not dumped or stockpiled where the waste becomes pollution or a fire risk.

EPA Southwest Regional Manager Martha-Rose Loughnane says Waste Tracker stops loads of that high risk waste from disappearing and turning up illegally dumped.

“Waste Tracker records who has the load of waste at any stage in its journey. If it suddenly vanishes, EPA will know,” Ms Loughnane said.

“Responsible operators using the system know their waste is going to proper disposal, and criminals find it harder to abandon industrial waste on someone’s farm or in stockpiles that have no fire safety measures,” she said.

EPA monitors compliance across the waste and resource recovery sector to ensure the safe handling and disposal of priority wastes in Victoria.

The $10,176 fine is the maximum that EPA can impose without taking a case to court. Under the Environment Protection Act 2017 and the Infringements Act 2006, the company has the right to have its fines reviewed or considered by a court.

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 

Businesses can learn about Waste Tracker on the EPA website epa.vic.gov.au/waste-tracker