Two businesses around Ararat have had visits from EPA Victoria with more than $20,000 in fines to show for it, as the authority cracks down on the dumping and burning of industrial waste.
Ararat construction and earthworks company SHS Civil Constructions Pty Ltd has been fined $10,455 for adding plastic, oil, a metal sink and other industrial waste to what should have been a legal green waste burn off at a Port Fairy Rd property.
EPA officers inspected the site on 23 July 2026 to find the waste pile still burning, with timber, remnants of plastic industrial containers, ash and fire-affected debris.
Another Ararat company, Andretto Proprietary Limited, received a $10,176 fine for the unlawful deposit of industrial waste on a property on Hillside Rd, Dobie.
EPA sent in an aerial drone and a team on the ground after receiving a tipoff from the public and found a substantial quantity of industrial waste had been burned and buried, including construction and demolition waste, and dead livestock.
EPA Southwest Regional Manager Martha-Rose Loughnane says tipoffs from the public often provide valuable intelligence in the search for illegal waste disposal.
“Victorians expect waste to be managed lawfully and responsibly, and along with routine inspections, unannounced visits and the matching of online records, EPA relies on more than 20,000 calls a year from the public to help identify pollution sites,” she said.
“The unlawful disposal of industrial waste can create risks to the environment and the community; with smoke, debris and contaminated runoff affecting the air, land and water,” she said.
“Cases like these represent a warning to others considering disposing of waste illegally; EPA won’t hesitate to take action wherever we find it.”
Under the Environment Protection Act 2017 and the Infringements Act 2006, the operators have the right to have the infringement notices reviewed or be considered by a court.
Members of the public can report pollution by calling EPA’s 24-hour hotline on 1300 372 842 or providing details online at epa.vic.gov.au/report-pollution/reporting-pollution
