SWANBANK composter Wood Mulch Industry (WMI) says assertions are untrue it has reduced volumes of highly odorous waste it is accepting or how it is operating.
Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DETSI) officials told members of the Swanbank Community Reference Group (CRG) on January 31 that WMI had agreed to stop accepting highly odorous waste after a DETSI inspection.
DETSI told the panel of locals the composter would halt the processing of highly odorous waste – such as grease trap waste, animal manure and bio solids – and was instead sending it to Phoenix Power Suppliers on the Gold Coast for treatment.
However, WMI told The Tribune those statements were unfounded.
“The fact is that the waste is not ours to send. We couldn’t, and don’t, send anything to anyone, let alone Phoenix,” a WMI boss told this newspaper.
“Phoenix has customers – their own customers – who will bring that stuff to them.
“This sounds like grandstanding to me.
“Any statement regarding WMI voluntarily agreeing to stop accepting liquid wastes is not accurate.
“WMI has never made such a decision and any claims to the contrary are untrue.
“WMI has not made any change to the types of waste it chooses to accept; there are no specific products excluded at this time.”
He said WMI had followed all “regulatory guidelines and continuously worked with relevant authorities to ensure proper waste management”.
DETSI had also recently told one resident via email: “During a recent inspection of the premises, WMI stated to the department that they have decided to stop accepting waste with odour rating of ‘high’ and ‘very high’ (as per schedule 1 listed in its environmental authority (EA).
“The decision to stop accepting these types of odorous waste is a business decision made by WMI. It has chosen to stop using these types of waste in its composting process.
“As per the requirements of the Environmental Protection Act 1994, regulated waste such as liquid waste with these odour ratings must be taken to a facility that can lawfully accept it as per the conditions of the facility’s EA.
“It is a business decision for the waste transporter of the waste to decide where it should be taken to for lawful disposal.”
WMI said it was business as usual for the Swanbank composter.
“Liquid wastes – as always at our site – will continue to be processed according to existing guidelines and protocols,” a WMI boss said.
“Any disposal is handled in compliance with environmental standards.
“The site, as always, remains committed to adhering to all regulations and maintaining transparency with the community.
“It is very easy for conversations to be interpreted differently … or it could be cheap point scoring.
“WMI decreased our volumes and chose to stop taking certain waste streams (some odorous) that we didn’t want, but that was four or five years ago, not just recently as stated – and certainly not because of any DETSI inspection or health inquiry.
“We pick and choose (under our EA licence), what best suits the business and our business model according to current market conditions.
“As stated, currently, we are not deviating much from the products we have been taking and the volumes, but we certainly don’t exclude ourselves from anything that we can lawfully accept in.”
A DETSI spokeswoman told The Tribune on Friday that “during a site inspection on February 7, WMI informed our officers that it had voluntarily elected to stop receiving highly or very highly odorous waste at that time – however, they are licenced to accept this waste if they choose to in future”, thus indicating that it had been only a temporary measure.
“Updated EAs now require all composters surrounding the Swanbank and New Chum areas to either transition to fully in-vessel or enclosed facilities, or to cease receiving waste with a high or very high odour rating,” the DETSI spokeswoman said.
“WMI is required to cease accepting odorous waste from September 30, 2026, or transition to an in-vessel or enclosed composting system, which is considered best practice for composters handling waste.”
