The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has fined Recycled Concrete Products Pty Ltd (RCP) $30,000 after the company breached a Prevention Notice requiring it to cease accepting waste.
RCP operates a recycling facility at Tomago near Newcastle, converting used concrete, bricks and pavers into products such as road base. The site is licensed to process a maximum of 30,000 tonnes of concrete waste each year.
In December last year, the EPA issued a Prevention Notice directing RCP to stop accepting waste until 25 March 2025, after the company exceeded its annual limit. Despite this, EPA inspections found RCP continued to receive up to 600 tonnes of extra waste during the restricted period, roughly the weight of 300 average-sized cars.
This follows an earlier Penalty Infringement Notice in March this year, when the EPA fined RCP $30,000 for exceeding its annual waste limit by more than 25,000 tonnes, the breach that triggered the Prevention Notice.
EPA Director Operations, David Gathercole, said the operators repeated breaches continued to put the environment at risk.
"This isn't a one-off mistake. It's the second time the EPA has fined RCP this year for accepting waste they are not permitted to," Mr Gathercole said.
"Compliance orders and waste limits are set to protect waterways, air quality and the surrounding community. Ignoring them undermines those protections and puts the environment at risk.
"When operators accept more waste than allowed, it can overwhelm the site's systems and increase the risk of pollution run-off in wet weather events or dust escaping into the local environment.
"We are continuing to monitor operations at RCP and will consider harsher regulatory responses if the company continues to operate outside the conditions of its licence."
The company has resumed operations and has strict reporting requirements to the EPA.
