THIS week, again, we have seen problems at the Tenterfield waste transfer station.
Asbestos has been discovered in mulch sold to the public.
Tenterfield Shire Council is not alone in this problem. Traces of asbestos have been found in other councils’ mulch piles, in playground gardens and in all sorts of places.
Council did act quickly to get the message out once the problem was discovered.
But the issue, once again, points to serious problems at the site. How did the asbestos get there?
Asbestos cannot be dumped at the waste transfer station, but can only be disposed of with notice at the Boonoo Boonoo landfill.
We were advised earlier this year, following the discovery to two loads of asbestos at the dump, that procedures would be tightened.
This is further fuel to the fire that the waste transfer station has been allowed to get into the worst of pickles - with serious consequences - both environmental and financial.
The Environment Protection Authority and NSW Health Department are involved, and with all the attention the facility has received this year - what with fires, discovery of asbestos and the revelation that the site is seriously overloaded - we can only hope that things will be improved from here on.
The improvements will, of course, come at a cost. We have already seen that with the implementation of new fees at the site.
Clean-up of the waste site and the procedures will continue to be expensive - and we have not yet seen the introduction of recycling.
Councillors and council staff will have to keep a close eye to see we do not repeat the considerable mistakes of the past.
