HELPING HAND: Simon Smith, left, and Henry Moore from the NSW EPA during yesterday’s workshop with the region’s landfill managers held at the community centre. Photo: Robert Chappel 091012RCE03
LANDFILL managers from across the region were given some tips on how to improve their waste management practices in Tamworth yesterday.
The Environment and Protection Authority hosted a workshop designed to educate council waste managers on how to get the best outcomes and achieve waste management to a high environmental standard.
EPA north director Gary Davey said the program had been implemented as a bit of a refresher for facility operators
“The workshop is a way of updating knowledge in waste management and refreshing ideas surrounding waste classification, hazardous waste management and things like resource recovery,” he said.
Mr Davey said the other goal of the program was to work with landfill operators to identify a sites individual goals for the environment and work with local councils and other landfill operators to achieve those goals.
“There are more than 140 landfill sites across north western NSW and while the EPA doesn’t license all of them we will be encouraging all operators to provide information about their sites during the workshops through a waste survey,” he said.
“With that information the EPA will be able to compare landfill performances.”
Mr Davey said where areas for improvement were identified the EPA may consider issuing regulatory notices and legally binding Pollution Reduction Programs if they were needed.
“It is expected most landfill operators will respond positively,” he said.
“The EPA regularly reviews the environmental performance of landfills as part of its ongoing compliance and enforcement activities.”
Landfill operators from Moree, Narrabri, Tamworth, Armidale, Tenterfield and Gunnedah attended yesterday’s workshop.