Waste Industry Group Condemns Cowboy Firms
The government is now being challenged by a waste industry group in Victoria to take stronger measures against recycling companies that are tagged to be operating cowboy-style. These companies are said to be prioritizing profit more than human life itself. These are the same companies that stockpile used timber flooring in Sydney and other dangerous chemicals which should have been disposed properly.
Peter Anderson, the chief executive of Victorian Waste Management Association, said that operators who are found to be stockpiling without legal consent should cease operations. They are commonly dealing with waste along with dangerous chemicals.
The appeal from the group’s leader is prompted by a large chemical fire that occurred inside a warehouse located in Campbellfield wherein it was found that waste was stockpiled illegally. This resulted to schools shutting them temporarily and black smoke spreading around the city. The sadder fact is that it is not the first but already the eighth time that a factory in Melbourne went under blaze since October of last year.
Mr. Anderson said that these companies are not following the law and it only proves that the law needs to be stronger in order to counter these incidents. He is calling for tougher laws against commercial ventures that prioritize business interest more than human life.
According to the Andrews government, they are going to employ the latest digital tracking system in order to track hazardous materials but Mr. Anderson countered that the system will be useless if the company provides false information regarding their stockpiles.
Peter Walsh, the deputy opposition leader, said that recycling companies that are not operating within the rules of the law will have to answer for the consequences later on. They have already discovered that these businesses are using the northern region of Melbourne as a dumping site for dangerous chemicals.
There are already companies legally operating tasked in handling these toxic wastes and therefore those that are illegally doing so will have to answer to the law. It includes stockpiling on combustible used timber flooring in Sydney which could start a dangerous fire if not handled and stored properly.
