Gunnedah Shire Council has warned locals to think twice before disposing of asbestos unlawfully.
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The warning comes after the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) fined a Gunnedah man $750 for allegedly transporting 2680kg of bonded asbestos waste to the council's waste management facility.
The alleged incident occurred on November 28, 2019 and was not recorded in Waste Locate, the waste compliance tracking system.
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In a statement on Wednesday, the EPA said the man did not have a consignment number when he arrived at the facility and had previously been provided with "education materials and assistance on the use of the Waste Locate app".
A council spokesperson told the NVI that the council "cannot comment on this individual case that has been dealt with by the court", however, "council takes the matter of asbestos disposal very seriously".
"Asbestos cannot be lawfully disposed at any of council's rural waste facilities (landfills), nor any Waste Transfer Stations or Mobile Waste Service drop-off points. Asbestos must not be deposited into mobile garbage bins, recycling bins or street litter bins," they said.
"Asbestos waste can only be disposed of at specific landfills. In Gunnedah, this is the Gunnedah Waste Management Facility.
"Council would like to remind people that significant penalties apply for the incorrect handling and disposal of asbestos, or asbestos containing materials."
Asbestos waste can only be disposed of at specific landfills.
- Gunnedah Shire Council
The spokesperson said a pre-arranged booking must be made for the disposal of asbestos or materials containing asbestos "to ensure correct preparations can be made at the site to safely handle and dispose of the asbestos material".
Anyone transporting and disposing of commercial quantities of waste in NSW must use the Waste Locate tracking system and have a valid consignment number.
The spokesperson said the council can reject the waste and report the waste generator/transporter to the NSW EPA, WorkCover NSW and/or SafeWork NSW for regulatory action when asbestos waste is incorrectly packaged or handled during delivery and disposal; and/or is not disclosed by the transporter as being asbestos or asbestos-containing materials; and/or the transporter does not have a disposal booking.
