More than 70 officers are to join the Environment Protection Authority’s (EPA) new Waste Crime Prevention Inspectorate, in the largest recruitment of specialists to reduce waste crime in EPA’s history.
Announced by the Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, Lily D’Ambrosio and Chief Executive of EPA, Cathy Wilkinson, the major recruitment drive is to hire forensic accountants to tackle illegal phoenix activity as well as surveillance officers, intelligence analysts and more environmental protection officers.
Ms Wilkinson said EPA took a zero-tolerance approach to waste crime.
“These new specialists will join our existing workforce to protect the community and our environment from illegal and unsafe storage, transport, and disposal of waste,” Ms Wilkinson said.
Ms D’Ambrosio said the new officers would target activities like illegal waste dumping, the unsafe storage and transport of waste as well as landfill levy fraud.
“The Waste Crime Prevention Inspectorate will work with WorkSafe Victoria, Victoria Police, emergency services agencies, local government and other regulators to improve and streamline intelligence sharing, and crack down waste crime in Victoria,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.
“These new experts will detect, combat and help prevent waste crime, and hold waste criminals to account,” she said.
Ms D’Ambrosio said an additional $71.4 million had been allocated to better detect, prevent, investigate and prosecute waste crime through Recycling Victoria – the 10 year plan to transform the State’s waste and recycling sector.
