Cleanaway Daniels Waste Services has been fined $30,000 over two alleged breaches of environment protection conditions at its Unanderra clinical waste treatment plant.
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Two officers from the Environment Protection Authority visited the premises at Industrial Rd in May after a fire in a waste skip bin.
They identified many instances of poor environmental management, including emissions control equipment not working, issues with incident management documentation and unsafe storage of lithium-ion batteries. Cleanaway was also given an "official caution" for storing more than the permitted level of liquid waste.
But when the Mercury asked the EPA what was found at Unanderra early in July, a spokeswoman said the issues were only "minor", and would not specify what they were.
"The site inspections in Unanderra identified a number of minor issues that are being further investigated by the EPA," she said on July 8.
The fines now revealed include $15,000 for allegedly failing to maintain waste processing equipment in a proper and efficient condition, and $15,000 for failing to carry out waste processing in a competent manner.
EPA regional regulatory director Giselle Howard said the premises had previously been the subject of seven recorded odour complaints in the 12 months to July 2019.
"Cleanaway Daniels is required to operate within the requirements of their environment protection licence to protect the community and environment, to the fullest extent with this important waste disposal," she said.
Cleanaway Daniels processes medical waste and quarantine waste from cruise ships at Unanderra.
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