An Albury business has been fined almost $600,000 for illegally stockpiling 28,000 waste tyres.
Key points:
- An Albury business was paid to receive about 22,000 4WD tyres, 45,000 car tyres, and 12,000 truck tyres
- Stockpiling more than 500 tyres is an offence
- Illegally dumped or stockpiled tyres are on the rise
Carbon MF Pty Ltd and its sole director Mark Fair were fined $582,375 by the Land and Environment Court last week for land pollution and failing to comply with an Environment Protection Authority (EPA) clean-up notice to remove the tyres stored near Albury Airport.
Court documents revealed that from February 1, 2021, to January 21, 2022, Carbon MF was paid $303,639.35 to receive about 22,000 4WD tyres, 45,000 car tyres, and 12,000 truck tyres.
EPA executive director of operations Jason Gordon said after the court ruling that stockpiled tyres were a potential fire hazard and strict conditions applied to their storage to keep the community safe.
“If these tyres had caught alight it could have resulted in a serious incident with toxic smoke potentially impacting nearby residents and impeding air traffic at the nearby airport,” Mr Gordon said.
“Carbon MF not only failed to comply with the EPA’s clean-up notice but also received a delivery of a further 5,000 tyres after the notice was served.
“The company must take its responsibility to the community and the environment seriously.”
Stockpiling more than 500 tyres can be a land pollution offence under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997.
Mr Fair pleaded guilty to four offences involving land pollution and breaches of the EPA clean-up notice.
The EPA is working to have the tyres removed from the site.
Carbon MF Pty Ltd has gone into liquidation and could not be contacted by the ABC.
Tyre pile getting bigger
According to data from Tyre Stewardship Australia, tyre recovery has gone backwards in the past year, dropping below 80 per cent.
Chief executive Lina Goodman said there were still 11.3 million used tyres stockpiled or dumped around Australia.
“Particularly in the last two years the recovery of passenger and bus tyres, which used to be up around 90 per cent, has dropped to 80 per cent,” she said.
“More end of life tyres are going to landfill, stock piles, or illegally dumped locations.
“Tyres are becoming problematic for the community. Stockpiles are fire hazards. Just look at the fire than happened in South Australia in February this year.”
Ms Goodman said there was an increase in “rogue operators” collecting tyres to export and dumping them in creek beds, landfill, or illegal stockpiles if they could find no overseas buyer.
“Of the tyres we are collecting in Australia a lot of that volume is exported, largely to South-East Asia, and used as a fuel replacement,” she said.
Ms Goodman said consumers should research retailers that had a commitment to disposing of tyres correctly, but Australia should regulate tyre waste management better.
“We’re looking for all tyre importers to be responsible from time of import to disposal,” she said.
The EPA said the risks of stockpiled waste tyres were quite severe in terms of human health.
Once alight, rubber tyres are extremely difficult to extinguish, generating a large amount of heat and smoke.
Stockpiles of tyres can also create an environment for vermin and mosquitos to breed.
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