Another page has turned in the asbestos-in-mulch emergency that engulfed Sydney at the start of the year, with a well-known property developer and Max Brenner chocolate cafe chain owner facing charges brought by the NSW Environment Protection Authority following its biggest-ever investigation.
The Herald’s Ben Cubby reports that Arnold Vitocco has been charged with an executive liability offence linked to his company’s alleged breach of its environmental protection licence. VE Resource Recovery holds the licence under which the Greenlife Resource Recovery Facility operates in Bringelly, on Sydney’s south-western fringe. Most of the contaminated mulch detected in Sydney in January and February this year was traced back to the Greenlife site.
The Greenlife Resource Recovery facility in western Sydney.Credit: Max Mason-Hubers
Two entities trading as Greenlife Resource Recovery Facility, Freescale Trading Pty Ltd and Runkorp Pty Ltd, face charges for allegedly reusing asbestos waste, breaching a resource recovery order and carrying out scheduled activities without a licence. The director of Freescale is Arnold Vitocco’s son Domenic, and the director of Runkorp is businessman Adrian Runko. They are not facing charges.
VE Resource Recovery has been charged with failing to carry out its activities competently and Arnold Vitocco, as director, is charged with an executive liability offence.
Fines apply in NSW for illegal dumping and range from $7500 to $1 million or seven years’ imprisonment (or both) for an individual or $15,000 to $5 million for a corporation.
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Discovery of the contamination spread like wildfire across Sydney after asbestos was found in landscaping mulch brought in to beautify parkland built above the new Rozelle Interchange last January. The mulch was scattered in 10 areas of the parkland and nearby garden beds. The EPA started checking other sites, and the Minns government then appointed a task force to oversee the investigation of asbestos-contaminated green spaces.
The discoveries were considered to pose a minimal health risk because most of the asbestos was bonded, not friable, and therefore not easily inhaled. But the potential risk shut down dozens of parks, schools and other facilities, including hospitals and children’s playgrounds, and caused the cancellation of some events, including this year’s Mardi Gras Fair Day, which was to be held in Camperdown’s Victoria Park. During the investigation, over 300 sites were inspected: 79 sites were identified as having used contaminated mulch.
A directions hearing is scheduled at the NSW Land and Environment Court on February 7.
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