Victoria’s environment watchdog has launched a compliance blitz of waste facilities that produce cheap landscaping soil after a Guardian Australia investigation revealed systemic problems with similar recycled products in New South Wales.
The Victorian Environment Protection Authority (EPA) said it had begun “a proactive program looking at recovered fines” – the cheap soil or sand substitute made from construction and demolition waste residues after larger recyclable materials are removed.
Extensive reporting by Guardian Australia this year revealed the NSW EPA had known for more than a decade that widespread breaches of regulations by producers of recovered fines meant potentially contaminated products had been distributed across the state.
The chief executive of the NSW EPA, Tony Chappel, has announced a crackdown on the sector after inspections in late 2023 and early 2024 detected asbestos in recovered fines stockpiles at seven out of 13 facilities.
Earlier this year the Victorian EPA conducted random inspections of mulch producers in response to the NSW scandal in which asbestos was detected in mulch at more than 70 sites across Sydney.
Victoria’s environment minister, Steve Dimopoulos, said the regulator was now taking a similar step in response to the NSW recovered fines crisis.
“EPA Victoria is responsible for regulating industries that could pose a risk to our communities and precious natural environment from pollution and waste,” he said.
“While there are no known issues in Victoria, the EPA’s proactive program is under way to assess any potential risks associated with recovered fines.
“This follows issues with recovered fines in NSW and EPA Victoria’s successful program of proactive and thorough inspections of garden mulch producers to determine and identify asbestos contamination risks and controls.”
It would be the first time the state has mounted an investigation specifically into recovered fines.
In Victoria, skip bin operators can sell recovered fines for use in landscaping products, on public spaces such as sporting fields, or in residential developments.
An EPA spokesperson said the compliance campaign was “under development for a full rollout in the near future”.
“While it is under development EPA is not in a position to disclose details,” they said. “However, the program will undertake inspections, assess compliance and take appropriate education and enforcement action as required.”
The spokesperson said all Victorians had a duty to protect human health and the environment from pollution and waste, “including businesses whose activities result in the generation of contaminated waste soil or recovered fines”.
Waste regulations in Australia differ from state to state. In NSW, recovered fines are governed by a specific set of regulations.
In Victoria, they are regulated under the state’s waste duties framework, which requires anyone who manages or controls industrial waste to take all reasonable steps to ensure that it is goes to a lawful place.
If facilities are unable to pre-classify recovered fines as either soil or a mix of recycled aggregates, they must have the product tested by a National Association of Testing Authorities (Nata) accredited laboratory for hazardous properties and ensure the material is correctly classified.
Both NSW and Victoria prohibit the recycling and reuse of asbestos, while a range of other contaminants may be present in recycled landscaping products up to a regulated limit.
