(Australia) A Queensland demolition company and its director have been fined more than $500,000 for illegally dumping toxic waste, including asbestos, near residential areas. Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI) officials began investigating Asbestos Demolition Specialists in 2020.
It found large amounts of asbestos waste had been disposed of at a property south of Brisbane.
DESI’s executive director, Brad Wirth, said Asbestos Demolition Specialists did not have a licence to dump waste at its site in Eagleby, Logan, because of its proximity to vital water sources and residential properties.
DESI issued multiple notices to the business, ordering it to stop disposing and receiving waste. According to the regulator, the company repeatedly failed to comply with the requests despite multiple follow-up inspections by DESI officers.
Asbestos Demolition Specialists pleaded guilty to nine offences under the Environmental Protection Act, including five counts of contravening an environmental protection order and one count of wilfully and unlawfully causing material harm.
The Beenleigh Magistrates Court fined the company $400,000 and ordered it to pay a further $75,000 for a licence fee.
The company’s director, Anthony Palmer, pleaded guilty after failing to ensure his business complied with requirements under the Environmental Protection Act.
He was fined $100,000 and sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment, suspended for three years.
The court found the offending activities were “deliberate and extensive”, and it ordered the company and Mr. Palmer to pay more than $12,600 each in legal costs.
They were also issued a rehabilitation order to restore land impacted by the illegal dumping.
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