EPA takes action on Bingo odours
The EPA is holding waste management company Bingo to account for offensive odours that have been impacting the local community in the Eastern Creek and Minchinbury area in western Sydney.
Following an odour survey campaign and investigations by the EPA, the Bingo Dial-A-Dump Eastern Creek landfill has been identified as the major source of the odours impacting the local community.
This finding has been confirmed by independent odour specialists engaged by the EPA.
As a result the EPA has required Bingo to take immediate steps to stop the odours and has amended Bingo’s environment protection licence to operate, to incorporate these new actions.
Bingo must now apply a layer of 300 mm of clean soil across the entire landfill to reduce the potential for odours from this surface, limit the type of wastes accepted at the landfill to waste that does not smell, and reduce the area used for active landfill operations.
These actions will help hold in landfill gas (rotten egg smell) and rubbish smells, reduce rain reaching the waste and reduce future gas generation.
Bingo must also monitor the landfill gas levels every day it operates and notify the EPA immediately if landfill gas is evident.
Bingo is currently installing new infrastructure to collect and treat odorous landfill gas from the highest priority areas. The collected gas will be destroyed onsite using a gas flare to reduce impacts to the surrounding community.
In addition to treating gas from priority areas, this infrastructure will inform the development of licence conditions requiring Bingo to develop additional landfill gas collection measures.
The EPA will conduct regular odour patrols around the landfill and local community at various times of the day to check these measures have been effective.
It is an offence under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act for licenced premises to emit offensive odours.
Failure to comply with licence conditions can result in regulatory action including prosecution and penalties.