Tara Murray
Cleanaway wants to accept asbestos at the Melbourne Regional Landfill in Ravenhall.
The company is seeking approval from the Environment Protection Authority to amend its licence to permit the receival and disposal of asbestos waste at the site.
Currently, MRL receives approximately one million tonnes annually of putrescible and solid inert waste, comprising household and commercial waste and construction waste.
The landfill can only accept waste as defined in its EPA Licence.
In a statement, the company said that the application will support the Sustainability Victoria report ‘Asbestos Disposal Management Plan’ released earlier this year which identified that asbestos disposal facilities within Victoria are limited.
“Our application to the EPA for a licence amendment requires a detailed asbestos management plan to ensure our compliance procedures for managing asbestos waste will be robust and safe for our staff, local community, and the environment,” the release stated.
“Currently, there are twenty-seven landfills licensed to receive domestic and/or commercial asbestos in Victoria.
“Of these, twenty-two are regional and five are located in metropolitan areas and are approaching full capacity in coming years.
“Cleanaway is the leader in waste management and has the expertise to receive and handle asbestos waste. We have the largest waste collection network in Victoria and can provide a solution for this identified need.”
The release said the material would be transported by truck via the Western Freeway, Christies, Ballarat and Hopkins roads.
Any customer looking to take asbestos to the site would need to submit the required documentation to the environmental team for assessment and approval before a single load is allowed onto site.
“The disposal area will be within an EPA approved landfill cell that will have a dedicated asbestos disposal section,” the information document stated.
“When the approved load arrives, the truck will offload the wrapped load at the nominated disposal point.
The deposited waste will then be covered with 300mm of cover soil.
Cleanaway will host several community information webinars in the next few weeks to inform the community of its plans.
Details: ow.ly/pFsJ50GFL7Z
