A smelly mess that attracted a swarm of insects to a factory at Dandenong South, also attracted complaints from the public and fines from EPA Victoria costing nearly $20,000.
EPA officers have fined two NSW-registered companies, Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd and Veolia Recycling & Recovery Pty Ltd, $9,880 each over the mess at the Stephen Rd factory.
The officers inspected the warehouse in January 2025 and found pallets of dairy waste being stored without an EPA permit or licence. At the time, the weather was hot, the waste had been stored in the warehouse since October 2024 without any refrigeration, and the odour was strong enough to linger in the officers' uniforms after they left the inspection.
There were also signs that while the waste was being loaded, some of it had spilled onto the driveway and begun to congeal in the sun.
The dairy waste was classified as a priority waste under the Environment Protection Act 2017, which has requirements for correct storage, handling, transport and disposal, including reasonable steps to prevent escape or contamination.
Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd was fined for unlawfully depositing more than 1,000 litres of waste at a place that was not licensed to accept it, and Veolia Recycling & Recovery Pty Ltd, was fined for failing to notify EPA of the breach immediately. The mess was quickly cleaned up, once EPA made contact.
Under the Environment Protection Act 2017 and the Infringements Act 2006, the operator has the right to have the infringement notices reviewed or be considered by a court.
Members of the public can report pollution by calling EPA's 24-hour hotline on 1300 372 842 or providing details online at epa.vic.gov.au/report-pollution/reporting-pollution
