Wyndham council detected 116 cases of illegally dumped rubbish across the municipality during the first week of May.
And it’s calling on the community to report illegal dumps, as part of efforts to help keep Wyndham clean.
Wyndham’s environment and sustainability portfolio holder, Cr Heather Marcus, said most residents were doing the right thing by booking a free hard waste collection to get rid of their bulky rubbish, but there has been “a spate of illegal dumping in recent weeks”.
“During the first week of May, 806 people booked hard waste collections, 739 people visited the tip but 116 people dumped their rubbish illegally,” Cr Marcus said.
“Council recently issued fines to commercial providers for dumping residents’ rubbish illegally instead of taking it to the tip.
“People need to make sure they are using reputable companies to dispose of rubbish legally.”
Cr Marcus said that if a resident spotted someone illegally dumping rubbish, they should safely gather as much information as possible – such a car registration number, a company name on the side of the vehicle or anything that may help council locate the culprit – and then report the incident to council.
“When rubbish dumped on public land is reported, our teams will collect it and start their investigation,” she said.
“Dumping rubbish in our parks, nature reserves, and on the side of the road not only impacts our local amenity but can damage the ecosystem and protected flora and fauna.”
Cr Marcus said people caught dumping rubbish would be made to clean up the mess, and that they could face fines of between $330 and $8000, or even more depending on the severity and type of dumping.
“Landowners can help prevent illegal rubbish being dumped on their vacant property by erecting fencing around it, so it is not so accessible,” she said.
“There are no excuses for dumping rubbish around Wyndham, especially with three hard waste collections annually for every resident that can be booked on demand.”
Hard waste collections can be booked at www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/services/waste-recycling/book-hard-green-waste-collection.
To report illegal rubbish dumping call the council on 9742 0777.
