Dial-A-Dump Pty Ltd (EC), a subsidiary of Bingo Industries Limited, could be forced to pay out more than half a million dollars after residents in Sydney’s west complained about gas odours that smelt like rotten egg.
The company was fined $280,000 by the NSW Land and Environment Court, after the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) received around 750 complaints from residents.
The Court also ordered Dial-A-Dump (EC) Pty Ltd to pay the EPA’s investigation costs of $42,575 and the EPA’s legal costs, still to be agreed by the parties but noted in the Court’s judgment to be approximately $365,000.
The odours came from the company’s Eastern Creek landfill between March and June 2021 and were caused by inadequate landfill gas extraction systems.
The Court handed down the penalties after noting many residents affected by the odour suffered very real psychological and physical harm, as well as considerable harm to their amenity for several months.
NSW executive director regulatory operations, Jason Gordon said adequate controls should have been in place to collect landfill gas and protect the community.
“It is not acceptable for residents to suffer for months ongoing odours from industrial neighbours that impact their wellbeing and day-to-day,” Gordon said.
“Waste facilities have obligations under their licence to ensure potential odours have measures in place to counter any odour emissions.”
Since the prosecution commenced, there have been limited odour complaints from the facility.
The EPA will continue to conduct regular inspections, odour surveys and air monitoring to ensure that Bingo Industries minimises the risk of offensive odours impacting the local community.
The Court ordered that half of the $280,000 penalty be paid to Blacktown City Council for an environmental restoration project in Minchinbury.
Dial-A-Dump was also ordered to undertake a letterbox drop publicising the conviction and penalty to all properties located in 66 streets in suburbs surrounding the facility.
To learn more about other EPA odour investigations, please visit: https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/working-together/community-engagement/updates-on-issues/odour-investigations