General information for waste transporters
What does ‘waste’ include?
Waste is not just rubbish and unwanted material, but also includes:
- excavated material such as dirt, sandstone and soil
- construction, building and demolition waste, such as asphalt, bricks, concrete, plasterboard, timber and vegetation
- contaminated soil.
Cover your load and transport waste safely
- Waste being transported must be adequately covered to ensure it does not fall, spill or otherwise escape from the vehicle or trailer. The EPA can impose fines and penalties on waste transporters who do not cover their loads.
-
Dust, soil, litter and other waste that escape from uncovered vehicles can wash into stormwater drains and pollute waterways or have other environmental consequences.
-
Heavy objects, such as bricks, rocks and concrete from vehicles that are uncovered, can dislodge and cause an accident or damage other vehicles on the road.
Avoiding escape of waste during transport
Clause 70 of the Protection of the Environment Operations (Waste) Regulation 2014 (Waste Regulation 2014) requires that:
- waste that is transported by a motor vehicle or trailer, must be transported in a manner that avoids the waste spilling, leaking or otherwise escaping
- waste must be covered during transportation unless the waste consists solely of waste tyres or scrap metal
- the motor vehicle or trailer used to transport the waste must be constructed and maintained so as to avoid the waste spilling, leaking or otherwise escaping from the motor vehicle or trailer.
Who needs to make sure this is done?
The transporter of the waste, the owner of any motor vehicle used to transport waste and the owner of any trailer used to transport waste.
Ensure waste transported by a vehicle is covered or risk a $750 (individual) or $1500 (corporation) fine.
Transportation of asbestos waste
Clause 78 of the Waste Regulation 2014 requires that:
- any part of any vehicle in which a person transports asbestos waste is covered, and leak-proof during transportation
- bonded asbestos material is securely packaged during transportation
- friable asbestos material is kept in a sealed container during transportation
- asbestos contaminated soils are wetted down.
Who needs to make sure this is done?
The person who transports the asbestos waste.
Ensure asbestos waste is transported in the above manner or risk a $750 fine (individual) or $1500 (corporation) fine.
Transport waste to a lawful place
Section 143 of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 requires waste to be transported to a place that can lawfully accept it.
The owner of the waste, owner of the vehicle and the transporter are each guilty of an offence when waste is transported to a place that cannot lawfully be used as a waste facility.
Illegally dumped waste also harms the environment: only transport waste to a lawful place.
It is an offence to transport waste to a place that cannot lawfully accept the waste. The maximum penalty is $1,000,000 for a corporation or $250,000 for an individual.
Waste tracking and licensing
An environment protection licence is required to transport higher risk wastes (referred to as ‘controlled’ or ‘trackable’ waste). Waste tracking requirements also apply to these wastes.
All waste generated in the Metropolitan Levy Area (MLA) transported out of NSW must be tracked using the EPA's online waste tracking system, regardless of its risk profile.
Waste tyres and asbestos must be tracked using the Integrated Waste Tracking Solution (IWTS) in certain circumstances, please see Tracking waste tyres and asbestos waste for more information.
Avoiding fines and penalties
- Know what types of waste are carried on your vehicle.
- Check the council development consent and environment protection licence for the waste facility to make sure it can lawfully accept the waste.
- Provide the waste facility with details of the waste (including classification, origin and quantity)
- Ensure any vehicle used for the transport of waste is constructed and maintained to prevent spillage of waste.
- Check any containers used to transport waste are secured safely on the vehicle.
- Ensure that any waste that is transported by a vehicle is covered during its journey (unless the waste consists solely of tyres and/or scrap metal).
- Know when waste is required to be tracked and reported to the EPA and ensure tracking requirements are complied with.
- Keep accurate written records such as:
- details of the waste (classification, name and address of its origin and quantity)
- copies of waste dockets/receipts for the waste facility (date, time of delivery, name and address of the facility, its ABN, contact person).