The Environment Protection Authority [EPA] Victoria has issued a prohibition notice at a Tottenham warehouse, after officers discovered eight warehouses, including warehouses in Tottenham, Williamstown North and West Footscray, were housing about 3000 tonnes of soft plastic as part of ongoing investigations into the REDcycle recycling scheme.
The EPA issued an information gathering notice to the operators of REDcycle, uncovering warehouses managed by logistics companies in Melbourne’s western and northern suburbs, with the soft plastics believed to have come from interstate.
Sites uncovered included two warehouses in Tottenham and sites in West Footscray, Williamstown North, Truganina, Campbellfield, Tullamarine and West Wodonga.
Officers have since issued a prohibition notice at one of the Tottenham sites, prohibiting it from accepting and storing plastic materials from any company without significant improvements, including improved fire risk controls.
EPA chief executive Lee Miezis said officers have been carrying out further inspections at the locations as investigations continue into the risks to the community and the broader environment.
“Like everyone, we want to see this material recycled as intended, but our first priority remains the safety of the community and environment,” he said
“While the fire risk is considered to be low to medium at most sites, we have taken regulatory action where required to improve how materials are being stored and further reduce that risk.
“We will continue to investigate until we’re certain we know where all sites are, that they have been inspected and the materials safely stored.”
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