Tara Murray
A Brooklyn waste recycling facility has been directed by the Environment Protection Authority Victoria to deal with a shed full of waste to reduce the risk of fire.
EPA western metropolitan regional manager Stephen Lansdell says a multi-agency team from EPA, Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) and Brimbank council inspected Action Recovery and Recycling run by the Sunshine Groupe late last month.
Mr Lansdell said they decided the fire risk in the shed at 125 Bunting Road was too high and that reducing the pile could not wait.
“This is a very serious direction under Section 62B of the Environment Protection Act 1970, a legal order that demands action immediately,” he said.
“The actions it specifies are there to stop any potential fire in its tracks, to protect the community and the environment.”
The Action Recovery and Recycling site recycles mixed construction and demolition waste.
Under the EPA order, the Sunshine Groupe has to clear industrial waste away from entry points to the building to create access for fire and emergency crews, and take the industrial waste to a premises that is properly licensed to deal with it.
They also need to install a fire suppression system in the building and have 24-hour security personnel watch the building, in case of fire.
The company has already been banned from accepting waste timber at another part of its site, and in 2018, EPA suspended the Sunshine Groupe’s licence to operate the nearby Western Land Reclamation landfill for licence breaches and overfilling.
“EPA continues to monitor the Bunting Road site closely and conducted another formal inspection during the weekend,” Mr Lansdell said.
Mr Lansdell said the multi-agency team has been inspecting sites from waste and recycling operations that are large enough to potentially create a stockpile that has a high risk of fire.
He said fires in waste and recycling facilities are unacceptable.
“Our community has had enough and we are taking a zero tolerance approach to fire risk.
“There are companies in the waste and recycling sector that are getting this right.
“Compliance is not unreasonable, it’s not hard to achieve, and it’s for the protection of the community and the environment.”
