Recycler put on notice

VCAT seeks $1.2m guarantee for site

GEELONG’S waste woes are continuing, with a recycling centre banned from collecting material and ordered to provide a $1.195 million guarantee to cover the costs of a clean-up.

It is the latest enforcement taken against Natjon Super Pty Ltd’s Lovely Banks recycling facility, which was slapped with an $8000 fine in February for illegally stockpiling waste.

The Staceys Rd tip was also the site of a March 24 mulch fire spanning 625sq m — which took 20 fire trucks to bring under control.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal this month issued an interim enforcement order against Natjon for being in contravention of more than 30 of its planning permit conditions.

The order forces the tip owners and occupiers to “immediately cease and not recommence bringing materials of any kind on to the subject land”.

It also requires daily temperature monitoring of shredded timber stockpiles, and around-the-clock security monitoring with staff trained in identifying fire risks.

VCAT also required it provide a $1.195 million unconditional bank guarantee to the City of Greater Geelong to cover the cost of a clean-up.

Cr Anthony Aitken welcomed the interim enforcement order, amid fears of a repeat of C&D Recycling leaving behind an estimated 350,000 cubic metres of waste at the Broderick Rd tip when it was made insolvent last year, with landowner TASCO then announcing it had been placed into liquidation.

“This is actually what the community has been asking for,” Cr Aitken said.

“We don’t want to see this become a Broderick Rd site.

“I think this is clearly a different approach from VCAT to what they have had with Broderick Rd, so it appears they may be learning their lesson about these types of operations, that the benefit of the doubt must be with protecting the community and not protecting the business model that isn’t recycling — it’s just waste stockpiling.”

City of Greater Geelong planning and development director Gareth Smith said council had welcomed the order.

“We are pleased VCAT has considered the city’s interim enforcement order as a priority. We will continue to ensure this facility operates in full compliance with the planning permit conditions,” Mr Smith said.

In February the Environment Protection Authority Victoria fined Natjon $8060 for non-compliant stockpiling of recyclable waste.