Landfill operator Hi-Quality Quarry Products Pty Ltd has been ordered to pay $40,000 to a local community project and another $15,000 in court costs, on charges from EPA Victoria.

The project funding will go to Hume City Council on behalf of the Sunbury Community Arts and Culture Precinct Project in conjunction with the Wurundjeri Corporation, to contribute to the design and construction of a lookout with views of Sunbury.

The platform and story-telling pathway will connect people to the landscape and waterways between Melbourne and Jacksons Hill, Sunbury, enabling the community to learn more about indigenous culture, significance of the area, flora or fauna.

Specific charges included improper leachate management, failure to implement a rehabilitation plan, improper waste cover, improper disposal of asbestos waste, operation of more than one tipping face per cell, failure to establish a risk-based monitoring program, and failure to conduct an independent annual survey.

The landfill on Sunbury Rd, Bulla, operates under an EPA licence with strict conditions for accepting prescribed industrial waste (asbestos and Category C drilling mud and soil); solid inert waste such as construction and demolition waste, and waste that can decompose.

EPA conducts regular inspections of Hi-Quality’s premises, and officers detected a series of breaches during site visits in December 2020, February, April, September and November 2021, and March 2022.

The Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court did not record a conviction, but imposed the $40,000 penalty in place of a fine, ordered the company to pay $15,000 towards EPA Victoria’s court costs, and required it to publish details of the penalty in a local newspaper.

The operating licence for the landfill places strict limits on the height of the waste and the amount that can be accepted. There are also conditions to prevent leachate leaking and endangering waterways, people’s health, and local plants and wildlife.

EPA Northern Metropolitan Acting Regional Manager Chloe Bernett says an EPA landfill licence is a protection for the environment and people’s health.

“Each licence has strict legal conditions designed for the operation of that particular landfill, as well as requirements for rehabilitating each landfill cell when it is full," she said.

“EPA also requires ongoing management of the land long after the landfill ceases to operate.”