Recyclers again call for EPR scheme for dangerous gas bottles

The continued failure of NSW government environmental regulators to deal with end-of-life gas bottles has direct and serious implications for people's lives, according to John Lawson, President of the Australian Council of Recyclers.

While the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) is pursuing extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes for cigarette butts and plastic bags, it continues to ignore the serious threat posed by gas bottles and LPG tanks still containing flammable and explosive gases.

These high-explosives end up with recyclers and landfill operators, posing OHS and environmental issues.

In response to a recycler being fined $7500 by the Land and Environment Court and ordered to pay $12,000 in costs over an explosion at its metal shredding recycling facility, DEC Director General Lisa Corbyn said that this case highlights the need for people, including the scrap metal industry, to be very clear that they do not take any explosive items whatsoever to these facilities for disposal. Recycling companies agree, but want the DEC to play its part.

"Companies in the metal recycling industry have very strict policies in place not to take gas bottles, backed by thorough inspection procedures, but bottles get hidden in wreckage and scrap because there is no system in place to keep them out of waste streams," Lawson said.

In one recent incident, a plant operator at a landfill site ran over a gas bottle which exploded, causing him severe burns. In a similar incident, a man received critical injuries when his tractor caught fire after running over a gas bottle in a vacant paddock.

"Instead of taking action by removing these dangerous items from the waste stream, the department is passing the buck to recyclers and landfill operators," Lawson said.

"The NSW government has enacted legislation which its environmental regulators should be using to keep hazardous materials out of waste streams and yet there is still no organised system to remove this threat to life and property.

"With numerous documented cases of severe burns, environmental impacts and extensive damage to equipment due to redundant gas bottles and LPG tanks exploding, what does it take for the government to use the EPR regulatory powers it has?"