The Waste Industry Alliance in Victoria has called on the Victorian Government to make it mandatory for all hazardous waste in Victoria to be sent to licensed facilities capable of treating the waste. This should be the only option and excessive stockpiling of hazardous waste must stop immediately.
Tim Piper, Head of the Waste Industry Alliance which represents some of Victoria’s largest waste facility operators, said today: “Both the community and the licensed waste industry which comply with the legislation, must be safe-guarded against facilities that simply store hazardous waste on site and fail to treat it.
“The treatment is the issue. There are at least three sites in and around Melbourne that can take hazardous waste and legally treat it. There is no reason to store these wastes on-site when they can be dealt with by an approved facility.
“As we have seen in today’s fire in Melbourne, the storage of waste presents an enormous risk to the community and to those being asked to fight this toxic blaze.
“The Waste Industry Alliance argues that licensed sites which offer both storage and treatment dramatically reduce the risk to the community. Greater efforts are needed to address the issue of storage facilities which store but not treat hazardous waste ,” Mr Piper said.
Source: Ai Group