Public pollution reports on rise

VICTORIA’S environmental watchdog is receiving reports of pollution at a rate of nearly 50 a day, with figures surging year on year.

The Environment Protection Authority Victoria received 20,016 pollution reports in the past financial year, an increase of 31 per cent.

More than 18,000 of these came from members of the community, while 1691 were made by businesses.

Noise and odour were the biggest generators of complaints, attracting more than 5000 reports each, followed by issues with waste and water.

The number of noise complaints reported to the authority doubled from the year before, and were most common in Melbourne’s metropolitan northern and southern suburbs.

The increase in reports coincided with more Victorians working from home throughout the day during lockdowns and stay-at-home orders as a result of the coronavirus.

As it works to address these issues, the EPA has been advising on major projects such as the North East Link and Suburban Rail Loop.

It is also assisting an Urban Air Mobility Steering Committee considering the potential impact of drones and other electric flying vehicles on noise guidelines across the state.

The number of emergency incidents reported also doubled, to 104, while 14 of these were major incidents.

Among those serious complaints reported were fires at waste and recycling industries and a sunken tug with about 900 litres of diesel on board.

In its latest annual report, the EPA says it is also heavily focused on preventing bad behaviour in the waste industry and is using hi-tech data to jump on issues early.

The watchdog reported $3.2m in litter fines during the past financial year, compared with $4.7m in the year before.