Contractors forced to pay $150k to SafeWork to end long-running Rozelle Parklands asbestos dumping saga

More than two years after the Rozelle Parklands were shut for months over concerns of asbestos-laden mulch, the contractors responsible have been forced to pay $150,000 to train future workers. On January 15, 2024 the NSW Environmental Protection Agency issued an asbestos clean-up notice to contractors employed to do landscaping at the Rozelle Parklands after Transport for NSW received an alert when a child took home “contaminated material” from a playground in the area. After nearly two years of back-end-forth, John Holland and CPB contractors agreed to pay $150,000 to SafeWork NSW, which will be working to “deliver more training” to workers on “the identification and handling” of asbestos. NSW EPA chief executive Tony Chappel said while it was important to highlight “the joint venture didn’t produce the mulch”, they still bore a level of responsibility because they were in charge of the project. “They delivered the Interchange project so had a responsibility to ensure that contaminated material was not brought onto the site as part of the works,” Mr Chappel said. “It is vital that steps are taken to ensure compliance with the Mulch Order 2016 and Mulch Exemption 2016 and that any potential issues are proactively investigated. “I’m pleased that as a result of this undertaking, more people who work with asbestos sources will receive training which will minimise the risk of such materials contaminating recycling and waste streams.” Enforceable Undertakings are legally binding agreements between the EPA and companies, individuals or joint ventures that have allegedly breached environmental legislation. The parklands reopened in April 2024 after a clean-up.