The Environment Protection Authority (SA EPA) will undertake formal community consultation on an application to allow PFAS-contaminated waste to be disposed of at the Cleanaway Inkerman landfill, north of Adelaide.
Waste Management Pacific SA (Cleanaway) applied to the EPA to add pre-treated PFAScontaminated solid waste — certified to contain less than 50 mg per kg of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — to its existing EPA landfill licence at Inkerman. Cleanaway’s application is the second received by the EPA since it released the landfill disposal criteria for PFAS-contaminated waste in 2020.
The EPA refused a previous application at McLaren Vale in 2021 due to the location; the fractured rock aquifer beneath the site meant that any failure of the landfill liner would have been difficult to contain and would rely upon immediate intervention.
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The SA EPA has since undertaken further work regarding the broader policy and operational management of PFAS-contaminated waste in South Australia, including developing draft site selection factors specific to South Australia to assist the assessment of applications. These guidelines are being finalised in preparation for community consultation in early 2023.
All landfills are likely to contain PFAS-contaminated waste from everyday household products. However, remediated waste soils from a known PFAS-contaminated site are currently not approved for disposal anywhere in South Australia. South Australia is the only jurisdiction in Australia that doesn’t have landfills where PFAScontaminated waste can be disposed of. Until a landfill has been assessed as appropriate to dispose of this waste, it must remain on-site or be transported interstate.
South Australian legislation requires the EPA to engage with nearby property owners in relation to the Cleanaway application for a period of not less than 14 days. The EPA would like to receive and consider submissions from residents surrounding the Inkerman site and the broader community. The nearby community was first informed of the application in 2020 and has had regular updates through the established Inkerman Landfill Community Reference Group, which meets three times a year.