THE City of Greater Bendigo has been fined $7700 for failing to adequately cover waste at the Eaglehawk Landfill.
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The Environment Protection Authority Victoria issued the fine in relation to the breach of the council’s environmental licence.
EPA officers visited the site in December and found areas of exposed waste, which should have been buried to prevent it from spreading.
EPA North West manager Scott Pigdon said the inspection was to ensure the landfill was compliant with the requirements of the EPA licence.
“Once onsite, EPA officers observed extensive areas of exposed waste that should have had at least 30 centimetres of soil cover to prevent litter being blown about by the elements and leaving the property,” he said.
“Under its EPA licence the council is required to cover over any exposed waste at the end of each operational day.
“In this case the waste has clearly not been covered and was exposed.”
Dr Pigdon said covering waste with soil helped to reduce vermin in the local area, and prevented stormwater contamination issues.
It also stops litter from impacting the local environment.
Dr Pigdon said the council had since improved its daily waste monitoring and had changed its landfill operations to ensure it complied with the EPA licence.