Hazardous Waste Management
Overview
The audit examined whether the Environment Protection Authority's (EPA) control and regulation of hazardous waste has reduced inappropriate disposal. In particular, it examined business information systems, monitoring and enforcement actions, as well as whether the expected benefits from the new regulations were being achieved.
The audit found that EPA is not effectively regulating commerce and industry’s management of hazardous wastes. Its monitoring and inspection activities lack coherence, purpose and coordination. This, combined with poor business information because of EPA’s lack of data reliability, poor analysis and reporting and inadequate documentation of its rationale for decisions, means that there is neither sound compliance monitoring nor effective enforcement regimes.
As a consequence, there is little assurance that hazardous waste is stored and disposed of appropriately.