If I pay someone to take my rubbish, who is responsible for where it goes?

The owner’s duty

The duty follows the waste, not the wheelbarrow. Section 143 of the POEO Act requires a load of waste to end up somewhere that may lawfully take it, and the NSW EPA’s transporting waste page says the waste’s owner, the vehicle’s owner and the transporter each commit an offence when it does not. Hornsby Council’s page states the same for households: a prosecution can reach both the person who dumped it and whoever owned the waste beforehand, and anyone hiring contractors has to make sure the load is disposed of legally to avoid penalties. Keeping the record of where the load went is what a household can show: the owner of the waste is one of the parties the law holds responsible for it.

What happens if a paid removal ends in a dumped load is not only the driver’s problem. On its garden waste page, under the heading on disposing of garden organics waste lawfully, the EPA says the waste’s owner and the transporter both have to be able to prove the load reached a lawful place. On its page about accepting fill, it shows the same shape from the other side: a property owner who takes contaminated waste on site breaks the law without meaning to, and can be left with the clean-up bill and the pollution. And giving false or misleading information about waste is an offence in itself, which the EPA asks people to report on 131 555.

From quote to receipt

Take a Sydney backyard clean-up: prunings, a cut-up fence, and a few bags of mixed rubbish, with the household deciding to pay someone to take the load rather than wait for the council’s own clean-up service. Garden organics waste is the load the EPA’s own advice covers directly.

1. The quote

   On its page about accepting fill, the EPA says to be wary of fill that is free or cheap, since it may be contaminated, and that a property owner who takes contaminated waste on site is breaking the law without meaning to and can be left with the clean-up bill and the pollution.

2. Before they load it

   The record to keep starts before the truck arrives. On its garden waste page, under the heading for disposing of garden organics waste lawfully, the EPA asks for the details of who transported the waste, the company name, ABN, vehicle registration and driver details among them; the date and time of transport and a description of the waste; where the waste was transported to, with the name and address of the contact person and the place; and copies of the dockets or receipts for the disposal, with the date, time and a description of the waste. The page gives the reason it matters: the law makes both the waste’s owner and the transporter answerable for proving it reached a lawful place.

3. Where it goes

   The place has to be one that can lawfully accept the load, which is section 143 of the POEO Act as the EPA’s transporting waste page sets it out. The EPA also requires the load to stay on the vehicle: waste transported by a vehicle has to be covered so it does not fall, spill or escape, or the fine is $1500 for a corporation and $750 for an individual, and its garden waste page gives the same rule and the same $750 figure for garden organics.

4. The receipt

   The end of the trail is the disposal receipt. Where a load contains asbestos the rule is explicit: the owner of the waste remains responsible for seeing it disposed of lawfully even when someone else takes it away, and the contractor has to give a copy of the disposal receipt. For garden waste the page asks for the dockets and receipts that show the date, the time and what was tipped. Keeping them turns the removalist’s word into proof of where the load went.

If the load holds asbestos

The load changes the job, not just the paperwork. SafeWork NSW says that where unlicensed removal is allowed, it still recommends a licensed removalist, and the next section says who may remove it from a home. A contractor must hold a licence for any friable asbestos removal, and for non-friable material when the area is more than 10 square metres. Where a licensed contractor transports more than 100 kilograms or 10 square metres, the contractor notifies the EPA of the movement through the Integrated Waste Tracking Solution. The material can only go to a landfill licensed to accept it, and no kerbside bin or clean-up takes it. The guide on asbestos and fibro carries the Sydney landfills and the form for a load a householder carries there, and the agency’s page for householders sets out the precautions before any work starts.

Handling asbestos safely

Asbestos fibres are dangerous when the material is damaged or worked on, and the EPA says most asbestos-containing material in a home is safe while it is in good repair and nothing is likely to damage or disturb it. Unlicensed removal is legal in your own home, but only for non-friable material under 10 square metres: the state government says any friable material, and anything larger, needs a licensed removalist. A home owner who does that small job must follow the same strict precautions as a licensed removalist, from the start of the job to the end. The advice is still not to rely on that permission: the Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency says it is not recommended that you handle or remove asbestos yourself, and the NSW Government’s asbestos site strongly recommends a licensed asbestos assessor and removalist, who can identify, remove and dispose of it safely. If a material might contain asbestos, treat it like it is, and never clean it with high-pressure water or any abrasive process such as scrubbing, sanding or grinding: the agency says work that is likely to disturb or damage the asbestos should go to professional help instead. Queensland’s asbestos site says not to saw, sand, scrape or drill holes in asbestos materials. The asbestos guide carries the whole route, from wrapping the load to the disposal receipt.