Charge:

1. Engaged in a prescribed activity without an operating licence at Campbellfield on 05.10.2021, contrary to s.45(1).

ELT Recycling Australia Pty Ltd is a recycling company which receives waste tyres and processes them in different forms for sale to various industries. It occupies premises at 147-149 Northbourne Road, Campbellfield (‘the premises’). At the time of the offending, a portion of tyres were bailed and exported, while others were chipped and crumbed, with the rubber sold as road base and other products, and steel sold to metal recyclers.

Since 29 October 2015, the Environment Protection (Scheduled Premises and Exemptions) Regulations 2007 requires an occupier of premises to hold a licence for waste tyre storage of more than 40 tonnes, or 5,000 Equivalent Passenger Unit (EPU). The Environment Protection Regulations 2021 commenced on 21 July 2021, and also state that to store more than 5,000EPA or 40 tonnes of waste tyres on site is a prescribed permission activity, and is a type of prescribed development activity, and prescribed operating activity.

Between January 2016 and October 2021, EPA inspected ELT’s three facility locations 28 times. ELT were repeatedly advised during those inspections, within inspection reports and remedial notices issued, of their obligations to hold an EPA Licence/Operating Licence for waste tyre storage of more than 40 tonnes or 5,000 EPU.

On 5 October 2021, EPA Officers inspected the premises as part of EPA’s Fire Prevention Program, to assess risks associated with fires. The Officers took photographic and video evidence of stockpiles of baled and loosely stacked tyres at the premises, including the movement and counting of tyres.

Officers identified the total number of bales of whole waste tyres and marked and numbered each bale with chalk. There were 51 bales. The officers then requested ELT break apart two bales and count the tyres contained within and averaged this amount out. Using this method, the officers calculated there were approximately 5,610 EPU of waste tyres in bales on the premises. A mix of off-the-road passenger and truck tyres were then physically counted and documented totally 2,890 EPU. Officers therefore calculated there was a total of 8,500 EPU on the premises, and observed further loose stockpiles of tyres which were not quantified.

The premises did not receive permission of any kind under the Environment Protection Act 2017 to store in excess of 5,000 EPU of waste tyres.