CLEANAWAY’S 2024 full year key financial results as listed on the Simply Wall Street website has the company recording a revenue of $3.78 billion this year (up 6.2 percent from 2023).
That means the fine levied against the company last week for pollution, amounts to 0.0017 percent of Cleanaway’s revenue.
The business, meanwhile, had a statutory net profit of $158.2 million.
Cleanaway has a long, troubled history in Ipswich.
It previously overfilled the dump site by 1.3 million cubic meters without approval and, in October 2020, contractors drilled seven times through the liner of the mega-dump, causing what activists at the time said was an “environmental catastrophe”.
Cleanaway confirmed the liner was ruptured during landfill gas drilling.
It was found drilling works had proceeded without two critical checks and balances.
The company said it had repaired the liner, however experts questioned how the liner could be rectified to stop pollutants leaching from the site.
A judge at the Environmental and Planning Court was critical of Cleanaway: “The evidence revealed that Cleanaway’s management of the existing facility is poor.”
At Item 68 in his judgment, he stated: “I found Ms Barnes’ [Cleanaway engineering manager Kristy Barnes] explanation for the drilling error, combined with her demeanour and unwillingness to accept responsibility for the liner breaches, devoid of the perspicacity expected of an experienced landfill operator.”
In June 2023, an Environment and Planning Court judge denied Cleanaway’s appeal to expand its New Chum site in a court case that cost ratepayers around $2 million.
In July of that year, the waste operator was fined $33,000 after being found guilty of “intentionally” contaminating an Ipswich creek catchment in 2021.
The 2022 annual report of the publicly listed company showed Cleanaway chief executive, Mark Schubert, and three other key management staff received the full 10 percent of potential bonus earnings linked to hitting environmental key performance indicators (KPI’s).
When a waste company has no convictions recorded, it allows company executives to access bonuses.
Senator Paul Scarr, in a speech in the Upper House at the time, said he was “gobsmacked” Cleanaway executives got the full portion of their bonus linked to environmental performance and that it was “a kick in the guts for each and every Ipswich resident who has been impacted”.
Mr Schubert’s total bonus for that financial year was $970,902, while three other bosses received bonuses ranging between $122,862 and $439,709.
CEO Mr Schubert was appointed in August 2021 and has a tenure of 3.25 years.
Simply Wall Street lists his total annual benefits for 2024 with Cleanaway as $4.29 million, comprising of 36.3 percent salary and 63.7 percent bonuses, including company stock and options.
He directly owns 0.034 percent of the company’s shares, worth $1.35 million.
His salary this year rose from $1,550,000 to $1,596,500.
