Hallam Road landfill

Status	Recovery
Incident date	3 August 2022
Locations affected	Cranbourne, Cranbourne North, Hampton Park, Lynbrook, Lyndhurst, Narre Warren South

Incident summary

Ongoing odour at the Veolia Recycling and Recovery Pty Ltd (Veolia) landfill in Hampton Park is impacting the local community. The odour comes from multiple sources, including:

the tip face (fresh or rotting garbage smell)
landfill gas (rotten egg smell)
leachate ponds (ammonia or sewage smell).

The smell can be worse at night or in the morning when the air is still. This is because landfill gases are heavier than air, which means they tend to collect close to the ground. Winter can also make the smell seem stronger because cold, damp weather keeps the odour close to the ground.

The smell can improve when it's windier.

Site inspections have found potential non-compliance with Veolia's operating licence OL000069939 conditions.

Our role

As Victoria’s independent environment regulator, our role is to monitor and enforce compliance with the Environment Protection Act 2017(opens in a new window).

We're responsible for making sure businesses prevent or control pollution and improve the quality of the environment. This includes regulating activities that may cause harm to human health or the environment.

Learn about our role in:

We work with government and other authorities to respond to incidents. Learn more about who we work with(opens in a new window).

Health information

Health impacts of odour(opens in a new window) vary based on the level of exposure. Exposure to odour can cause short-term physical symptoms, such as:

sore throat
eye and nose irritation
headache
nausea.

These symptoms should gradually go away once the odour has gone. Odour pollution does not usually cause long-term health problems.

Some people may be more sensitive to odour and may have symptoms even when exposed to a low concentration of an odorous compound in the air – for example:

young children
elderly people
pregnant people
people with pre-existing respiratory conditions, such as asthma.

Offensive odours can also impact people’s mental health and sense of wellbeing, especially if an odour lasts a long time or keeps recurring. If you need help, talk to a doctor, psychologist or mental health support service.

To help minimise your exposure:

when the smell is noticeable outside, keep your windows and doors closed

when you cannot smell any odour outside, open your windows and doors to ventilate your house and replace stale air with fresh air.

Report pollution

Help us prevent harm to human health and the environment. If you notice a strong odour in the area, report it to us(opens in a new window).

Our response

We're investigating the impacts of odour from the Veolia landfill. We have issued several remedial notices(opens in a new window) to Veolia since October 2022.

We have also initiated court proceedings against Veolia. For more information, search 'Veolia Environmental Services Pty Ltd' on our public register(opens in a new window).

We're also investigating Veolia's leachate spill in November 2024 and may take enforcement action against the company.

We continue to inspect and regulate the site to make sure that Veolia complies with the law as quickly as possible.

February 2024
On 8 February, Veolia notifies us of another hotspot at the landfill.
March 2024

On 13 March, Veolia applies for a time extension for improvement notice IMPN-00005476. We approve the extension and change the compliance due date to 15 April 2024.

April 2024
On 11 April, Veolia applies for another time extension for improvement notice IMPN-00005476. We do not approve the extension. The compliance due date is still 15 April 2024.
On 15 April, Veolia does not comply with improvement notice IMPN-00005476 by the due date. We are investigating the non-compliance with the reporting due date.
On 24 April, Veolia complies with improvement notice IMPN-00005500. They provide a risk assessment and plan for managing the overfilled waste. We revoke the notice.
May 2024
On 22 May, Veolia complies with improvement notice IMPN-00005476. Veolia provides us with an auditor-verified landfill gas management plan. We're working to make sure Veolia implements the plan.
July 2024
On 4 July, Veolia complies with improvement notice IMPN-00003834. They provide an auditor-verified leachate management plan. We revoke the notice.
On 17 July, Veolia complies with environmental action notice EAN-00005296. They provide evidence that the hotspot has been extinguished. We revoke the notice.

August 2024
On 29 August, we start civil proceedings against Veolia, alleging a range of non-compliance with Victoria’s environment protection laws.
This includes allegations that the company:
- did not comply with the requirements of its operating licence
- failed to meet the general environmental duty(opens in a new window) due to prolonged impacts of odour from its landfill on community.
September 2024
On 20 September, we receive community reports of litter blowing off the landfill in high winds. Our officers visit the area, and Veolia deploy staff to clean up the surrounding areas.

November 2024
On 25 November, we receive a notifiable incident report from Veolia, advising of a leachate spill that has discharged onto adjacent private land.
On 26 November, we inspect the Hallam Road landfill. We give Veolia compliance advice about dust suppression of their soil stockpiles.
Our inspection confirms that a pipe carrying leachate from the landfill to the onsite treatment lagoons has burst, causing discharge. The pipe is repaired and the leachate pumped out from Veolia's site.
Most of the leachate is absorbed into the neighbouring property. It doesn't appear to have impacted waterways or residential areas. Our officers continue to monitor the situation.

On 27 November, we issue environmental action notice EAN-00007910. The notice required Veolia to engage a suitably qualified professional to investigate the extent of contamination and provide a report.
Veolia must comply by 20 December 2024.
December 2024
On 24 December, Veolia complies with environmental action notice EAN-00007910. We revoke the notice.
February 2023
On 1 February, we issue improvement notice IMPN-00004067 to Veolia. The notice addresses:
- dust generated outside of the premises boundary
- discharge of sediment outside the premises (tracked out on vehicle tyres).
We deem these works non-compliant and investigate this issue for enforcement action.
On 14 February, Veolia complies with information-gathering notice IGN-00003467 and provides the requested information. We revoke the notice.
On 17 February, we issue improvement notice IMPN-00003834. This means Veolia must provide:
- an updated leachate management plan verified by an EPA auditor, and
- a plan to repair the leachate infrastructure.
April 2023
On 26 April, we amend improvement notice IMPN-00003834. The due date to comply is now 16 March 2024.
August 2023
On 10 August, we issue improvement notice IMPN-00005065 to Veolia. This means Veolia must provide an updated risk management and monitoring program (RMMP). The RMMP must be verified by an EPA-appointed auditor.
On 16 August, Veolia notifies us of a hotspot at the landfill. Veolia has a duty to manage the hotspot under its operating licence.
On 18 August, we issue environmental action notice EAN-00005296 in response to the hotspot. This means Veolia must:
- manage the hotspot
- suppress any odour or smoke that the hotspot generates
- track air quality and odour at the site
- report to us every second business day until 19 February 2024 or until the hotspot is no longer present.
Veolia engages environmental consultants and an EPA-appointed auditor. They help Veolia to extinguish the hotspot.

On 21 August, we issue information-gathering notice IGN-00005144 to Veolia. This means Veolia must provide their approved pre-settlement contour plan for the landfill to us by 14 September 2023.
September 2023
On 7 September, we receive a non-compliance notification from Veolia. The top of the waste contours in one of the landfill cells doesn't comply with a condition of their operating licence, causing an overfill.
On 27 September, Veolia complies with improvement notice IMPN-00005065. They provide an updated RMMP. We revoke the notice.

October 2023
On 3 October, we issue improvement notice IMPN-00005476 to Veolia. This means Veolia must develop a landfill gas management plan. This plan must include a:
- landfill gas risk assessment
- landfill gas remediation action plan.
On 19 October, we issue improvement notice IMPN-00005500 to Veolia. This means Veolia must provide an auditor-verified plan for safe removal of the overfilled waste, then remove the waste. Veolia must comply by 11 April 2024.
On 31 October, we amend improvement notice IMPN-00005476. The due date to comply is now 15 March 2024.

November 2023
On 10 November, Veolia complies with information-gathering notice IGN-00005144. We receive a new version of the pre-settlement contour plan (after previously receiving a version that could not be accessed).
On 19 November, we amend improvement notice IMPN-00005500 to only require a risk assessment and plan for the safe removal of overfilled waste.

On 27 November, Veolia applies for a time extension for environmental action notice EAN-00005296.
December 2023
On 15 December, we amend environmental action notice EAN-00005296 to reduce reporting frequency to once per week.
August 2022
On 3 August, we receive a notifiable incident report from Veolia. Veolia has discharged groundwater off site which was potentially contaminated with leachate.
On 24 August, we issue improvement notice IMPN-00003252. This means Veolia must engage a suitably qualified person to assess the risk to human health and the environment from the discharge. Veolia must also report on how they will prevent or reduce harm so far as reasonably practicable.
September 2022
On 30 September, we issue improvement notice IMPN-00003255. This means Veolia must put in place controls to make sure that no water contaminated with waste, including sediment, is discharged from the premises. Veolia must comply by 1 November 2022.
October 2022
On 3 October, we issue an authorisation of discharge or disposal (ADD-000300102) for Veolia to transport leachate from the Hallam Road landfill to their Taylors Road landfill for disposal. This authorisation expires on 30 January 2023.
November 2022
On 19 November, Veolia submits a report to us in response to the earlier improvement notice, IMPN-00003252. We deem these remedial works to be non-compliant.
On 24 November, we conduct a site inspection with a landfill specialist to assess landfill gas reported to us by Veolia. During the inspection, we observe potential non-compliance with Veolia's operating licence obligations. We investigate these for enforcement action.
December 2022
On 15 December, we conduct a permission compliance assessment at the site with a field specialist. We observe potential non-compliance with Veolia's operating licence obligations.
On 23 December, we issue information-gathering notice IGN-00003467. This means Veolia must provide documentation relating to environmental risk assessment and monitoring at the site, including leachate and landfill gas management. Veolia must also report to us any remedial work done in response to non-compliant emissions.

Updated 27 May 2025