Family-owned recycling business crippled by $1.5m battle with environmental watchdog

A family-run green-waste recycling business claims it has triumphed over the NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in court, but the win has come at a crippling cost.

The EPA shut down Damien Jensen's Lake Macquarie business last year over pollution concerns and allegations of multiple licence breaches.

Confident he was not responsible for the excessive ammonia quantities alleged by the EPA, Jensen claims his only option was to appeal the terms of his suspension in the Land and Environment Court.

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"[The EPA] totally and utterly ignored every cry for help for us, every time we tried to fix what they were alleging was wrong," Jensen said.

"We wanted to talk about it, we wanted to meet, and they refused."

The senior commissioner of the Land and Environment Court upheld the appeal, but Jensen fears he will have to close his business for good after spending $1.5 million on legal fees.

"It's huge money, and it's money we don't have," Jensen said.

To add insult to injury, the EPA's now told Jensen it will conduct an internal review of some of the issues raised.

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