Fill importation: common risks and protective measures
Fill materials (soil excavated from one site and used as a base material in building, landscaping or general fill somewhere else) are a valuable resource and are important to construction, infrastructure and private sectors. In Australia, state Environmental Protection Authorities (EPAs) encourage the recovery of resources from waste to be used as fill, under the condition that it is beneficial and poses minimal risk of harm to the environment or human health.
In my experience undertaking environmental due diligence, the uncontrolled importation of fill to a property represents significant concern. In some situations, fill has been delivered to property owners with claims that it is clean, only to find that it is contaminated with building and demolition waste, general rubbish, chemicals, heavy metals or even asbestos.
By accepting contaminated waste onto a property, owners or persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) are inadvertently breaking the law and can be left responsible for any clean-up costs. The best way to prevent financial and environmental risk associated with contaminated fill is for it to never reach the property in the first place.
The NSW EPA has created a useful guide on what to check for if you are accepting fill. A summary of the guide is included below:
Is it legal?
When importing fill onto a property, council approval is required. Without it, council or the EPA can order landowners or occupiers to remove the fill and pay for proper disposal.
Understand the risk
Contaminated fill is expensive and logistically challenging to dispose of. Receiving contaminated fill could devalue your land, harm human health, cause environmental pollution and result in significant financial burden.
In NSW, if you dispose of fill illegally, you could receive up to:
$15,000 on-the-spot fine
$5 million in court fines
7 years in prison.
Request documentation and ask questions:
“Free” or “cheap” fill can be a red flag… it may be contaminated:
ask for the supplier’s full contact details and ABN to see if they are trustworthy
ask your supplier for a written report certifying the quality of the fill, and where it comes from
if you doubt the fill quality, ask the supplier to test for contaminants and give you the results and keep copies of all records you receive from the supplier (i.e. emails, quotes and invoices).
It is an offence to give false or misleading information about waste. If you suspect someone is doing the wrong thing, contact your states EPA.
Supervise delivery
There is no substitute for physical supervision:
supervise and inspect all loads of fill as they arrive
stage the delivery so there is time to check what you are getting
ask delivery drivers where they got the fill
record their details, such as truck registration, proof of identity or employment and driver log books
do not accept fill if it contains asbestos, bricks, concrete, wood, glass or plastic, looks a strange colour or smells bad
keep your property secured so trucks cannot enter without your knowledge.
For large scale importation of fill it is recommended to engage a suitably qualified environmental consultant to supervise and validate works.
News and Resources
Asbestos dumper to pay over $450,000 for offences in Sydney and Illawarra (nsw.gov.au)
EPA urges - track your trash | Environment Protection Authority Victoria
Illegal dumping | Western Australian Government (www.wa.gov.au)
