TRANSCRIPT
Since the start of the year, the discovery of asbestos-contaminated mulch has led to the closure of 78 parks, schools, and other sites across Sydney.
The contaminated mulch has also been found in Queensland and the ACT.
Now, the New South Wales government has proposed major changes to toughen up the state’s environmental regulations.
The New South Wales Environment Minister Penny Sharpe explains.
"We're also making some changes that would allow things like recall notices for contaminated products that would be able to make, we haven't been able to do that before. We're also looking at improving the entire supply chain. We don't want any contaminants in our environment, we want to stop it at the source. We're working with the waste industry on those matters and we want to see improvements over time."
The state's Environment Protection Authority will be given more powers to prosecute individuals and companies who fail to dispose of asbestos correctly.
Chief Executive of the Authority, Tony Chappel, says the new reforms are designed to stop asbestos contamination from spreading.
"As we move to a recycling based economy we need to make sure that there's no contamination in those products, so having that ability would be a major step as with the ability orders across multiple sites where there's a single source of contamination because that's not currently in the legislation. So there's some additional investigation powers and tools. New powers for land managers like national parks and local council to deal with illegal dumping. There's some substantial increases in penalties too which haven't shifted in a few decades."
Until the 1990’s, asbestos was used in everything from home insulation to hot water pipes.
When buildings are demolished, asbestos material can end up in waste bins and then sent to recycling centres - where it can be processed into mulch and used for landscaping.
Mr Chappel says prior to these changes being made, the Environment Protection Authority has been working to address the state's asbestos issue.
"We have the largest investigation in the EPAs history still underway. We are now at 78 positive detection for asbestos contaminated mulch in Sydney. All of these sites are contained and being remediated. We've done over 2000 tests, so the New South Wales government's put a major effort into tracing and tracking this material down and now remediating it in partnership with other landowners."
If the amendments are passed, offenders could face a doubling of fines from $1-2 million for individuals and $4-10 million for companies.
The dumping of small scale illegal waste could see companies penalised up to $50,000 and individuals up to $25,000.
Minister Sharpe says it's hoped the fines will combat increasing asbestos identification.
"The important thing here is that asbestos harms health. We've seen that people have done the wrong thing. The investigations into that are ongoing, but we want to make sure at the end of the day that the punishment fits the crime. If you harm our environment, or if you put our people, people's wellbeing and health under pressure as a result of your actions, we want this to be a deterrent. We want to make sure that the punishment fits the crime, and we want to make sure it's just not the cost of doing business."
The new reforms are an attempt to protect human health, and the environment in New South Wales.
Other states and territories are yet to follow suit and change their laws.
