Burning waste can mean a fine from EPA

EPA Victoria says spring is not the season for burning waste, but you can burn money if you try.

In the past month EPA's South West Region has issued more than $10,000 in fines to people burning waste in the City of Ballarat, the City of Greater Geelong and Moorabool Shire.

The latest were just days apart - a waste management company in North Geelong and a farm manager at Balliang East copped fines of $2,035 each for illegal burning in the first week of September.

EPA fined bin hire and waste recycling company NC Waste Management Pty Ltd for burning construction and demolition waste, then fined the farm manager for a similar offence just two days later.

EPA Southwest Regional Manager Martha-Rose Loughnane says burning waste does not make it go away.

“Burning waste pollutes the air with smoke and contaminates soil and waterways. It is a hazard to crops and livestock, and it leaves a mess that attracts attention to what you’ve done,” Ms Loughnane said.

“Both of the recent cases in the Geelong area started with calls to EPA from members of the public,” she said.

“And there are clear similarities across sites. Businesses are found to be stockpiling green waste ready to burn, then adding other waste, like treated timber, metal, ceramic tiles, plastics, glass, concrete, bricks, paint tins, mattresses and general construction and demolition waste before setting it alight”.

Ms Loughnane says EPA finds illegal burning is a problem right across the southwest.

“This time of year, we always receive more reports of burning because of winter stockpiling of waste and the impending summer fire restrictions,” Ms Loughnane said.

“It is important to remind individuals and businesses that having a permit to burn green waste does not permit you to burn construction and demolition waste, which can be full of chemically treated materials that give off toxic smoke when added to a fire,” she said.

“If we attend a site where you’ve added waste to the fire, you can expect a fine and potentially, a requirement to clean up if the fire has contaminated the surrounding environment”.

“If you have accumulated combustible material and it can’t be recycled, you must take it to an EPA-licensed facility. The fines and clean-up costs after an illegal burn can be far more than the price of proper disposal,” she said.

Any Victorian can report illegal burning of waste by calling EPA’s 24-hour hotline on 1300 372 842 or providing details online at epa.vic.gov.au/report-pollution/reporting-pollution