Bankrupt businessman living on luxury yacht after leaving $100m mess in community

Residents are furious after a businessman living on a 28-metre yacht left a $100m mess in their neighbourhood after going bankrupt.

David McAuliffe owned a tip in Victoria's Lara, north of Geelong, near residential homes and a school.

For years, the so-called recycling site took in fees from industrial businesses that would dump their trash.

But after years of operating and court proceedings over his company, C and D Recycling, Mr McAuliffe was bankrupted by the tax office.

Now, it's likely the taxpayer will have to foot the $100m clean-up bill, while Mr McAuliffe lives on a luxury yacht owned by a trust controlled by a family member.

Hazardous materials expert Trevor Thornton said the tip was a catastrophe in the making.

"We just don't know what's buried in there," he said.

"And the sort of sources where it comes from, there could be asbestos, it could be chemical containers, it could be anything in there."

Mr Thornton warned the site could have long-lasting and short-term health impacts on the community.

Mr McAuliffe claimed the waste in the tip was "not toxic" when A Current Affair tracked him down on the yacht.

"It is not a toxic situation, it's not full of asbestos," he said.

"WorkSafe and us ran a whole series of tests."

However, WorkSafe told A Current Affair testing earlier this year confirmed a small amount of material containing asbestos was present at the site.

Residents are also angry that it could be their money that pays for the clean-up.

"There's houses just across the way, there's a playground, a cafe and a park you can see the pile from," mum Michelle said.

"So I fear for those people and their children."

Local Dianne said if the tip caught fire, they would be "history".

City of Greater Geelong CEO Martin Cutter said in a statement the site operator had "repeatedly" breached conditions and orders made by VCAT, and that Mr McAuliffe had faced criminal charges on a number of occasions.

"Further charges against Mr McAuliffe are scheduled for hearing on 14 and 15 November 2018, relating to charges of breaching an interim enforcement order issued by VCAT in December 2017," he said.