$7,500 penalty issued for the unlawful transport of waste

The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has issued a $7,500 fine to the former Director for Harwood Slipway Pty Ltd, Giovanni Cervella, following the unlawful transport of approximately 230 tonnes of hazardous waste to a rural property in Ashby, in northern NSW.

Residents first reported the incident to the EPA in December 2022 and an EPA investigation and testing found the hazardous chemical compound tributyltin se, used in marine paints, to be present in the illegally stored waste.

The EPA issued two clean-up notices, one to Harwood Slipway PTY LTD and one to the owner of the Ashby property, and by April 2023 all 230 tonnes of hazardous waste had been lawfully removed to a licensed waste facility.

The stockpile area on the Ashby property has also been effectively cleared of the hazardous waste.

EPA Director David Gathercole said it is important that hazardous waste is stored and managed at licenced facilities.

“It is completely unacceptable to attempt to cut corners when transporting and disposing of waste, especially hazardous waste that can cause harm to our environment and communities,” said Mr Gathercole.

“The health of our environment relies on businesses doing the right thing with their waste, which includes locating an appropriate and licensed waste facility.

“The local community of Harwood were rightfully concerned by this incident; it’s great to be able to support their care for the environment on this matter.”  

The EPA encourages the community to report environmental incidents to the Environment Line on 131 555.

The EPA's Regulatory Policy, which summarises the EPA’s regulatory approach to non-compliance, can be found at: www.epa.nsw.gov.au/licensing-and-regulation/regulation/regulatory-framework