Farrell v Bridge [1988] NSWLEC 133

Land and Environment Court of New South Wales

CITATION : Farrell v Bridge [1988] NSWLEC 133 APPLICANT Farrell PARTIES : RESPONDANT Bridge FILE NUMBER(S) : 50014 of 1987 CORAM: Bignold J KEY ISSUES: :- LEGISLATION CITED: Waste Disposal Act 1970 CASES CITED: DATES OF HEARING: DATE OF JUDGMENT: 08/23/1988

LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES:

JUDGMENT:

Bignold J.: The Defendant has pleaded guilty to the charge that between October 1987 and February 1988 he did breach section 23(6) of the Waste Disposal Act 1970 in that he did fail to comply with a condition attached to his license to transport waste requiring that he only discharge grease trap waste at a depot approved by the Metropolitan Waste Disposal Authority.

The evidence indicates that in the aforesaid period the Defendant disposed of a total volume of grease trap waste exceeding 500,000 litres at a place not being an approved depot.

The Defendant has held a license to transport grease trap waste since January 1983 and this is the first offence under the Waste Disposal Act 1970 with which he has been charged.

The Prosecutor has informed the Court that the Defendant has co-operated with the Authority in its investigation of the breaches of the Act (except to inform the Authority the precise location where he disposed of the aforesaid volume of grease trap waste other than to identify it as land at Mangrove Mountain in the Wyong Shire).

I take these matters into account in the Defendant's favour.

However I also take into account the extended period of some 4 months during which the Defendant breached the Act and the very large volume of grease trap waste unlawfully disposed of by the Defendant.