An asbestos removal expert says he is “shocked” asbestos has been found in playground mulch in Victoria, with the number of parks containing contaminated mulch rising to four.

Sections of three more reserves in Melbourne’s west — Crofts, Hosken and Lynch reserves, all in Altona North — have been closed after testing confirmed the presence of asbestos in mulch.

Shore Reserve in Pascoe Vale South was also inspected on Saturday after a concerned resident reported seeing suspicious fragments, but Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) has since identified these as likely being from litter rather than mulch.

Earlier in the week, Spotswood’s Donald McLean Reserve was also shut down.

‘Virtually no regulations’

Stephen Marett from remediation company GMA Asbestos said he had “an idea of the reputable mulch dealers in town, and I think they have pretty good standards”.

He said he could only conclude the mulch came from other sources, and was likely the result of commercial and industrial waste that didn’t have asbestos removed prior to demolition.

“It’s being brought into these recycling facilities and put through a mulcher and then being put into our parks and gardens for the public and our kids to breathe in,” he said.

Mr Marett said there were “virtually no regulations” around mulch, although he believed the bigger producers generally had checks and balances in place to ensure contamination did not occur.

“But around recycling, there is absolutely nothing stopping anyone from going to buy a grinder and taking this type of waste and putting it through and turning it into mulch.”

The cost pressures on Australia’s construction industry were probably also a factor, he said.

The EPA said on Saturday that it had “stringent requirements” on the waste and recycling industry to prevent harm to the environment and human health, including from asbestos contamination.

“There are significant penalties for those who do not comply with Victoria’s environment protection laws,” the EPA said in a statement.

Taskforce needed: opposition

Shadow economic reform and regulation minister Jess Wilson called on the state government to emulate NSW in establishing an asbestos taskforce.

“The Allan government needs to put in place a taskforce to make sure that no other playgrounds, no other parks, no other community facilities in Victoria are at risk of illegally dumped asbestos. We don’t know the scale of this,” she said.

“We want to make sure that when children are going to playgrounds in Victoria, it’s safe for them to do so.”

Last November, the Auditor-General warned that measures to reduce illegal asbestos disposal were not coordinated across agencies.

By not collecting or sharing data on illegal disposal, agencies did not understand the scale of the issue, whether they were making the right decisions to address it and if the measures they were taking were working, the Auditor-General said.

Minister for Local Government Melissa Horne said Hobsons Bay City Council was working closely with the EPA.

She said the EPA had identified the suppliers of the mulch, whom she could not identify.

“The advice that I’ve received from the EPA is that the product that has been found in that mulch has been isolated, and has been very low risk.

“However I would encourage any parent who is out there in a park with their kids, that sees something that they think is potentially suspicious, to call the EPA immediately.”

Mr Marett said the asbestos found in Melbourne’s parks is non-friable — generally considered lower risk.

“But it doesn’t really matter, to be honest — it’s all classified as asbestos-containing materials, it needs to be treated with the same respect,” he said.

“I wouldn’t be encouraging my 10-year-old and seven-year-old to be going to play in parks if I knew there was asbestos-containing materials in it, simple as that.”

The EPA urges anyone who spots suspicious material to contact their local council environmental health officer or the EPA, and to avoid handling the item.