Illegal tyre dumping scam shut down as NT Environment Protection Authority opens investigation

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a day ago

When Anwar Albatat returned to work after a two-week holiday, he was stunned by what had been left in his yard.
A mountain of old tyres blocked his view of the tiny houses he makes.
He had had suspicions, but it was then that the realisation fully set in.
The industrial yard he rented to construct and sell homes had been used as a base for a scam.
Over the past six months, two Darwin businesses have been left with tonnes of tyres and a massive clean-up bill after falling victim to a tyre dumping scheme that has impacted people across Australia.
"Everything seemed to be 100 per cent genuine about [the workers sharing our yard]," Mr Albatat said.
"They hired people … they had their own truck.
"But slowly, slowly we start to realise they were not coming here anymore.
Mr Albatat said at the beginning of the year, his landlord rented out a portion of the yard to a new tyre recycling company called Seoul Traders, which needed space to store and recycle tyres.
Property owner Peter Kruhse said the NT Environment Protection Authority (EPA) had granted the company a licence to recycle tyres on a commercial basis, which was a requirement under Northern Territory law.
"At first, they paid rent on time," the landlord said.
"Then, they pretended to pay it and they'd send me screenshots of payments … and eventually they disappeared."
He said phone calls went unanswered when he tried to chase them up, and he wasn't able to track the tenants down.
"It was a nightmare. I slogged in the sun for a month packing the tyres into stacks," Mr Kruhse said.
The scam targets businesses with stacks of worn tyres, offering discounted recycling services.
Operators collect their payment, but then abandon the tyres at rented lots or backyards and vanish with the cash.
In May, interstate authorities alerted the NT Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to the scam after it had taken place in other jurisdictions — sparking an investigation.
The EPA went to the site to carry out an inspection on Seoul Traders, and found it was breaching a number of licence conditions.
In June, the EPA suspended their licence.
"Seoul Traders was granted an environment protection licence in March," a spokesperson told the ABC.
The spokesperson said the EPA checks the business records of applicants and asks if they have held licences or committed environmental offences previously, and Seoul Traders met the basic ASIC requirements to get an ABN and operate in Australia.
In 2020, thousands of old tyres were illegally dumped at vacant land lots and in the backyards of rented homes across Western Australia, prompting authorities to issue warnings about the scam.
Mr Kruhse estimated the company left around 50 tonnes of tyres on his Darwin lot, which could cost him over $30,000 to dispose of.
In May, NTEX — a legitimate recycling company in Darwin — was also targeted.
Paul Wilson, the company's facility manager, said the scammers organised to pay for around 20 tonnes of tyres to be recycled.
He said NTEX also checked the company's credentials and found there was "no reason to question this particular client".
But after the tyres were dropped off, NTEX never heard from them again, and the bill was never paid.
Mr Wilson said after numerous attempts to contact the company, NTEX decided to take the tyres back to the address they had on file: Mr Kruhse's property where Anwar Albatat makes his tiny homes.
Recycling tyres in the NT is an expensive and complex process, despite the growing overseas market for the shredded rubber and steel.
It now costs more than $1,000 for a commercial business to dispose of a tonne of tyres at the NT's main waste facility, and there are only a few cheaper options like NTEX, which charges $610 per tonne.
Mr Wilson said the steep rise in costs had led to a surge in illegal tyre dumping across Australia.