Monday 13 August 2018

Construction and Demolition Waste Disposal

If you are a builder, a renovator, construction site manager an owner builder or a demolisher - one of the important questions in your project is how to manage and dispose of Construction and Demolition Waste.
Some Examples of Construction and Demolition (C & D) Waste are:
  • excavated material such as rock and soil
  • waste asphalt, bricks, concrete, plasterboard, timber and vegetation
  • asbestos and contaminated soil
Each Building or Construction Site, particularly in Melbourne, Vic, Australia must have their Waste Management Plan, which will stipulate how the C &D waste will be managed and legally disposed of.
Due to some creativity or desparate measures due to cashflow issues, some operators have succumbed to the lure of getting rid of waste for free or nearly for free via engaging some dubious waste transporters or making illegal agreements with some rural land owners or farmers.
The EPA has stepped up its illegal dumping force and consequent fines, which range from $7500, or up to $777,300 (5000 penalty units) if prosecuted. EPA can require the waste generator, transporter and receiver to clean up and pay for waste to be taken to a lawful place.
To ensure that your building or construction site is compliant with the local Waste Disposal Laws - it is critical to be associated with a reputable Waste Management Company or a Skip Bin Hire Company,  which will be licensed to transport your waste and then deal with it accordingly to separate and either further recycle or take it to other recycling or material processing facilities.
When dealing with Soil in Particular - it is very important to obtain a soil report first, to determine whether soil is contaminated and to what extent, which will allow you then to select the appropriate Soil Transporter, who will need an appropriate EPA license to transport contaminated soil.
In addition to having Waste Management plans on your Building or Construction Site, the following are the suggestions from the EPA of what information you might be requested from the EPA, should they decide to visit your building site:

Supplying information about waste

At any time, you can be asked to supply information about your waste. Ensure all relevant information is disclosed, such as:
  • waste assessment and categorisation reports, including sampling methodologies and laboratory analysis for potentially harmful materials such as contaminated soil
  • written procedures and plans for managing waste, including handling and storage procedures, and incident response plans
  • development applications, including waste management plans
  • site assessments including contaminated site assessments, and environmental and geotechnical studies.
The maximum penalty for supplying false or misleading information about waste to EPA is $373,104.
 For more guidance on how to manage waste and properly dispose of Construction and Demolition Waste from your site, please contact Need A Skip Now - Melbourne's Experienced Skip Bin Supplier, who also runs its own Waste Transfer Station and will ensure complete compliance with the local laws.

Friday 3 August 2018

Is Your Waste Going To The Right Place?

Skip Bin Hire and Illegal Waste Dumping in Victoria, Australia and What To Do About It

A very interesting publication was issued by the EPA on Hiring a Skip Bin Company.

One of the main areas of concern addressed in that article was  - paying a Due Diligence and Selecting the right Skip Bin Hire compay to deal with your waste.

Due to the ever increasing cost of processing the rubbish and taking it to the landfill, there have been an increase in illegal waste dumping in Melbourne, Australia, to the extent where councils are now spending more than $30 million dollars annual to clean up residential and construction waste.
One of the suggestions EPA gives when researching a Skip Bin Provider is to ask a question:
What Happens to My Waste Once its Collected in a Skip Bin?

 If a Skip Bin Provider cannot adequately answer this question - there might be a reason for this and you need to look elsewhere.
You can also ask the following questions from the perspective Skip bin Hire Company:
  • What does your company do with my waste?
  • Can you provide me with a report/receipt which shows where the material ends up?
  • Are you a member of any waste or industry associations? 

How you can prevent illegal dumping - a suggestion from EPA

  • Be wary of skip bin providers who offer very cheap quotes for waste removals.
  • Report suspicious activities – such as unusual truck movements at night and commercial properties/warehouses collecting piles of waste.
  • Report skip bin companies who are unable to satisfy questions about where your waste is going, through our illegal dumping intelligence form.
  • Share your experiences with others via online reviews to raise awareness of illegitimate skip bin operators. 
So when  you are searching for the next skip bin hire provider in Melbourne, perhaps price is not the only consideration and making sure that you are dealing with a reputable, licensed and ethical company is also very important.
Skip Bin Hire companies with their own Waste Transfer Station is certainly the next level of service and you can be sure that waste is first being taken to their own facility, properly sorted and then taken to further recycling centres and in some cases to landfill.
For More information of what to look out for when selecting a Skip Bin Hire Provider, check out the EPA Website or Need A Skip Now Blog.