Waste plan knock-back

Tribunal’s ruling against Lara company’s proposed change

A CONTROVERSIAL Lara waste company has lost a bid to change its operations amid ongoing fears about the site’s fire and environmental risk.

C & D Recycling Pty Ltd (CDR) sought to move away from a recycling centre and become a transfer station, as it struggles to offload towering amounts of waste.

The Broderick St site con- tains large stockpiles of mixed demolition and construction waste, with smaller mounds containing timber, mulch, fibreboard and plasterboard.

But little, if any, recycling is actually taking place on the land, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) said.

The company conceded at the tribunal hearing that it lacked a sustainable offtake market for the materials.

The City of Greater Gee- long, Country Fire Authority and Environment Protection Authority all opposed the application, as they seek to impose tougher action on CDR.

VCAT this week agreed with the authorities that a revised permit could allow existing breaches to continue indefinitely, with ongoing environmental and public health risks.

VCAT deputy president Mark Dwyer said the company had not outlined how it would deal with the fire danger and environmental risks posed by the existing stockpiles.

“Given the history of noncompliance, there is no information to explain how or when the CFA conditions will be complied with,” he wrote.

“Indeed, (director) David McAuliffe conceded in submissions that he did not have the funds to comply with these conditions in the short term.

“CDR gave us no reason to believe that its proposed amendments to the permit were designed to do anything other than defer its existing obligations.”

Two VCAT cases involving the company’s Lara site are still to be finalised, with hearings set for mid-April.

The Geelong council launched legal action in order to enforce the current planning permit, which was issued by VCAT in August 2016.

The tribunal will also hear CDR’s appeal against an EPA requirement that it stop accepting waste at the site until it can show that it complies with stronger new laws.

The EPA slapped a $7929 fine on the company in January for defying a ban on storing construction and demolition waste in a specific area of its site.

The penalty came a week after water bombers and firefighters were needed to extinguish a small fire at the site.