Who is managing the Broderick Road recycling site?
The City of Greater Geelong and EPA Victoria have been informed that TASCO, the company that owns the Broderick Road recycling site, has been placed into liquidation.
Is there still a fire risk?
A contingency fire management plan is in place to ensure all fire prevention measures continue, uninterrupted, in case of abandonment of the site.
Fire prevention measures continue on the site.
Measures that have been undertaken to date include:
Installation of two 500,000 litre water tanks installed on site
A mulch stockpile at the rear of the site has been spread into windrows.
Hydrant lines are now complete along the west and south boundaries of the site, with fire hoses connected and hydrants fully functional.
The site has been secured with permanent perimeter fencing.
Mulch piles that were measuring high temperatures have been relocated to the northern part of site and stockpiled to meet the Waste Management Policy.
The entire site is surrounded by an earthen bund to secure fire water (if required).
Measures that will continue to monitored include:
Security personnel remain on site 24/7
Ongoing testing of stockpile temperatures continues, ensuring that the compost piles will not overheat and combust.
Mobile firefighting and earthmoving equipment remains on site at all times
Who is paying for the clean-up?
Rehabilitation and future plans for the site will be discussed as a priority between all agencies involved and the liquidator for TASCO.Together with EPA Victoria, we are committed seeking to hold TASCO and its associated entities to account for the clean–up costs and remediation of the Broderick Road site.
Have the owners abandoned the site?
TASCO, the company that owns the Broderick Road recycling site, has been placed into liquidation.Together with EPA Victoria, we are committed to seeking to hold TASCO and its associated entities to account for the clean–up costs and remediation of the Broderick Road site.
Will the clean-up take even longer now that the owners have gone into liquidation?
Rehabilitation and future plans for the site will be discussed as a priority between all agencies involved and the liquidator for TASCO.
All agencies will continue to work together to oversee the clean-up of this site in the longer term.
Who is responsible for this mess? Are they being punished?
The previous operator, C&D Recycling, abandoned the site.The City prosecuted C&D Recycling's director, David McAuliffe in the Magistrates' Court in late 2018 and he was sentenced to 90 days' imprisonment on 1 February 2019. Mr McAuliffe is currently awaiting the hearing of an appeal of his 90-day term of imprisonment.
Is there asbestos (or other toxic chemicals) coming off the site?
While the site is stable the EPA advise there is no detected risk of airborne pollutants.During excavations and removal of the items there may be some dust unsettled. As part of the rehabilitation plan, site owners are required have WorkSafe plans in place during any excavation works, which includes notifying adjacent residents and businesses of potential dust impacts.
Is this related to the household recycling issues currently happening?
The Broderick Road recycling site has no bearing on the current recycling issues being addressed nation-wide.Household recycling is no longer being diverted to landfill and will be processed by our recycling
