Mark Ellacott has approached the NSW government about using the former Truegain site at Rutherford for a business he is planning, which involves using scrap tyres to make a diesel fuel alternative.

Mr Ellacott said, if it went ahead, he would use a percentage of the business' income to fund the remediation of the site.

The Newcastle Herald reported last month that the NSW Environmental Protection Authority was considering legal action against the site's owner and former Truegain director, Bob Pullinger, who has allegedly claimed he is financially unable to take responsibility for the site's remediation.

The EPA operates under a polluter pays strategy.

Mr Ellacott said he would aim to sell fuel made at the Truegain site to "government instrumentalities".

He said the site appeared to be equipped to handle the operation.

"I believe I can raise the capital if there are capital improvements that need to be made," he said.

"What my thought was, is we could take a percentage of the fair market price ... and allocate that towards the program of eradicating the toxic waste.

"It would probably have to be done first, therefore there would be a debt, but in the end I believe we should be able to repatriate the government for those costs."

Mr Ellacott said he worked with Mr Pullinger in the finance sector in Sydney about two decades ago but had fallen out of touch with him since then.

NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean toured the Kyle Street site for the first time last month, saying the state of the property was "appalling".

When asked about Mr Ellacott's proposal this week, Mr Kean's office and the EPA both told the Herald they could not comment on the matter and a development application would need to be lodged with Maitland City Council.

However Mr Ellacott said he did not believe a development application would be required for the project because it would use the existing refinery facilities.

A Maitland City Council spokesperson said on Friday: "Council would require details of the proposed use from the proponent to determine whether a development application is required".

A Newcastle Herald investigation in 2018 revealed that millions of litres of waste from the Truegain site was dumped on the ground and in a waterway that leads to the Hunter River over more than a decade. The Herald has been unsuccessful in numerous attempts to contact Mr Pullinger for comment since 2018.

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