Hi-Quality Quarry Products, which operates the landfill at 570 Sunbury Rd, Bulla, has been ordered to contribute to a local community project and publicly announce its wrongdoing after pleading guilty to breaching its environmental licence.
The company admitted in the Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court that it began constructing a new waste cell at its landfill before meeting the conditions of its Environment Protection Authority (EPA) licence.
EPA Victoria had granted Hi-Quality (now known as HiQ) an operating licence with the specific condition that it “not start constructing a new cell without written approval from the authority.” Despite this, construction went ahead without the required approval.
As part of the court’s decision, Hi-Quality will pay EPA’s legal costs of $7,000, take out an adverse publicity order requiring it to publicly announce the offence, and contribute $10,000 to Hume City Council’s Sunbury Community Arts and Culture Precinct Project.
EPA Victoria said the case reinforces the importance of complying with licence conditions designed to protect the environment and local communities.
HiQ is currently in the process of applying to build a waste-to-energy incinerator and power generation plant at its Sunbury Rd site.
See our previous reports on HiQ (Hi-Quality) here.
