FLAMIN’ DANGEROUS
Troubled Geelong recycling site with 9m-high waste piles deemed a fire hazard and told to clean up.
A RECYCLING facility in Geelong’s north has been deemed a fire hazard and ordered to reduce its risk of a toxic blaze, as agencies crack down on the industry across Victoria.
C & D Recycling in Lara, which has a chequered legal history, has been served with a fire prevention notice by the City of Greater Geelong.
The notice requires the operator to undertake works that would prevent any fire leaving the Broderick Rd site, which hosts stockpile waste up to nine metres high.
The action follows a fire at SKM Recycling’s Coolaroo plant last month, which burnt for 11 days and forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents due to air quality issues.
The State Government committed itself to an audit of all recycling facilities, following concerns that the highly flammable waste loads were not kept at a minimum at the Coolaroo site.
A joint government taskforce has also been created to target key sites that require extra management measures.
C & D Recycling has not been far from the headlines in recent years, with the business convicted and fined in Decem- ber 2015 for ignoring planning orders.
The Geelong Advertiser also previously revealed that its owner, David McAuliffe, owed thousands of dollars to local firms through personal debts and debts owed by his companies.
The Environment Protection Authority, Country Fire Authority and the city council have long been monitoring the Lara site.
“EPA, CFA and council are also working on other regulatory tools that might be able to be applied to reduce the risk immediately,” an EPA spokesman said yesterday.
“While all three agencies continue to drive compliance through the tools available, the company holds the duty to ensure that its operations do not impact on the community.”
The EPA raised significant concerns with the Lara opera- tion last year, as planning tribunal VCAT considered C& D Recycling’s expansion bid.
Despite the council’s opposition, the company secured a permit for a new receivables stockpile of up to 16,000 tonnes.
The EPA’s issues included: THE significant environmental risk if material at the site was to catch fire; THE volume of waste that was stockpiled on site, with no clear market based plan to recycle it; and THE likely yearly increase of about 4000 tonnes of material on the site.
C& D Recycling was unable to be reached for comment.
The council’s city services acting director, Peter Godfrey, said the council was working with the EPA, the CFA, the MFB and Worksafe to ensure the fire prevention notice issued ... is fully complied with.”