Clayton South landfill company fined

A CLAYTON South landfill operator has been fined more than $11,500 for not covering and compacting the waste it collected.

Transpacific Waste Management was found to have breached its licence at its Deals and Heatherton Road landfills and received a warning for poor management practices at its Fraser Rd site after EPA compliance checks earlier this year.

It was fined two separate amounts of $5841 for licence breaches at the two landfill sites.

EPA south metro manager Cameron Brown said the offences included failing to adequately cover waste, which could result in offensive odours, and not compacting waste, which can cause settling problems before and after the landfill is covered over.

“Landfills require careful management, and ongoing neglect of licence conditions may result in more serious long-term environmental impacts,” Mr Brown said.

“The EPA is disappointed with the results and expects better from a seasoned operator like Transpacific Waste Management.”

The site inspections were part of an EPA compliance check of seven Kingston landfills in January this year.

Three local landfills complied with regulations and another required minor changes.

By Jessica Bennett