The ACT Government has confirmed that mulch potentially contaminated with asbestos has been sold in the ACT following recent findings of it in NSW.

The NSW EPA advised the ACT EPA on Saturday 17 February 2024 that potentially contaminated mulch was sold to ACT landscaping supply company Stonehenge Beltana in Pialligo.

The initial source of the mulch is south-west Sydney business Greenlife Resource Recovery Facility and the dates for potentially affected mulch coming to the ACT are between March and November 2023.

The ACT EPA has been advised that the mulch, marketed locally as ‘cottage mulch’, was sold on to 24 companies and 27 addresses in, and around, Canberra.

Records are held for many of the purchases, so most customers have already been contacted and informed by the retailer. Others will be contacted in the coming days as they are identified.

Updates will be provided on the Access Canberra website at www.accesscanberra.act.gov.au

It is important to note that the public health risk of bonded asbestos is low.