Following prosecution by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA), A to Z Demolition Pty Ltd (A to Z) and its former Director have been fined in Parramatta Local Court for supplying false or misleading information about asbestos waste disposals. The prosecutions have cost A to Z and its former Director a total of $55,000.
The EPA prosecuted A to Z and its former Director for supplying customers with tipping dockets, which they claimed were issued by Dial a Dump Industries, showing that A to Z had disposed of asbestos waste lawfully in 2017. Dial a Dump confirmed that it did not issue the tipping dockets. Both A to Z and its former Director pleaded guilty to the offences.
The Court fined A to Z $12,000 for two separate offences ($24,000 in total), ordered A to Z to pay $16,500 in costs and ordered that details of the offences and convictions be published in Inside Waste magazine. The court also fined the former Director $9,000 and ordered him to pay $5,500 in costs.
EPA Director of Major Compliance and Investigations Greg Sheehy said demolition companies have a responsibility to ensure that their waste is disposed of legally and correctly and that any information supplied about waste is correct.
“Companies like A to Z must have adequate systems, procedures and protocols in place to ensure the information they supply about waste transport and disposal is not false or misleading,” Mr Sheehy said.
“In this instance A to Z gained a financial advantage by providing false tipping dockets to its customers as proof of disposal.
“It is the responsibility of all waste operators to ensure that waste is disposed of legally and anybody found to be operating illegally, including creating or using falsified disposal dockets, will face regulatory action.”
Prosecutions are one of a number of tools the EPA can use to achieve environmental compliance, including penalty notices, formal warnings, licence conditions, notices and directions, mandatory audits, legally binding pollution reduction programs and enforceable undertakings.
