The operator of the Melbourne Regional Landfill in Ravenhall has been issued with $20,000 fine.
In a statement, the Environmental Protection Authority Victoria said the company failed to notify it of non-compliance and breaches of its licence at the site.
Landfill Operations, which trading at Melbourne Regional Landfill and is part of the Cleanaway group, recently pleaded guilty in the Broadmeadows Magistrates Court to two charges encompassing a total of five licence breaches under the Environment Protection Act 1970.
Three of the licence breaches were for failing to notify EPA of non-compliance and two for failing to limit the tip face size stipulated within its license conditions.
“Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) brought the action after multiple reports from the local community of odour issues from the Landfill Operations site,” the statement said,
In May 2021, the EPA said residents living near the landfill had reported strong odours coming from the site.
The environmental watchdog said it has been monitoring odour in the area since 2013, focusing on preventing odour.
“We regularly check the landfill’s operations for compliance,” the EPA said in a community update at the time.
The court did not record a conviction but ordered Landfill Operations to pay EPA’s court costs of $7344 on top of the fine.
It follows the EPA issuing Cleanaway with a pollution abatement notice for the site in 2020, requiring it to manage potential environmental risks at the site.
The notice asked Cleanaway to address leachate levels at the landfill. Leachate is a liquid formed from rainwater and decomposing waste.
Cleanaway was also issued an infringement notice in October 2018. The EPA said the infringement notice was for allowing the wind to blow litter off the landfill into the surrounding area.
