One of Australia’s largest waste transport companies has been fined for carrying hazardous industrial material with an expired permit at Brooklyn.
Veolia Environmental Services was fined more than $7500 for transporting prescribed industrial waste with an expired Environment Protection Authority vehicle permit under a joint EPA and VicRoads operation targeting random trucks in McDonald Road.
Veolia, a French-owned company, has operated in McDonald Road since 1997 and handles hazardous waste in various forms including sludge, liquid and soil.
Tim Eaton, EPA head of assessment, said officers detected a Veolia vehicle with a permit that had expired more than 18 months before.
“The vehicle had just transported over 5000 kilograms of prescribed industrial waste to a facility licensed to receive it but, disappointingly, it didn’t have the right permits and documentation and should not have been on the road with that load at all,” he said.
Mr Eaton said the waste was known as sandy spent catalyst, which is leftover from processing crude oil.
“This involves prescribed industrial waste which would be detrimental to the environment if it were to escape,” he said.
“There’s no doubt it would also have posed a public health risk.”
Veolia is likely to face more inspections of its fleet, the EPA says.
