The NSW taskforce will assist the Environmental Protection Authority investigation into hundreds of sites across Sydney potentially contaminated by asbestos-ridden mulch.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said it would have been unreasonable to test the city’s 400 parks and thousands of garden beds “when there was no indication there was an issue”.
The City of Sydney pulled the pin on holding the popular event in Victoria Park after bonded asbestos was found in mulch used at the site.
Premier Chris Minns has warned that suppliers could soon face tougher fines after the latest contaminated mulch discovery in Surry Hills.
Greenlife Resource Recovery Facility says its mulch is free of contaminants despite multiple finds.
Greens MLC Sue Higginson said NSW needed to improve its testing and tracking requirements after asbestos was found in mulch around the city.
Yet another public park has tested positive to asbestos in newly laid mulch,more than two weeks after Rozelle Parklands was shuttered.
The prevention notice was issued to the supplier of mulch for the Rozelle Parklands,which was later found to be contaminated with asbestos.
A construction giant is investigating whether its other infrastructure projects have used contaminated mulch after asbestos was found at the inner Sydney park.
The co-director of Greenlife Resource Recovery,which supplied recycling mulch used around Rozelle,previously operated a landscaping supply business without the proper licence.
It’s the first time asbestos containing mulch has been detected outside the parklands.