City of Whittlesea are investigating major illegal dump waste that was discovered on Vearings Road in Epping last month.
The council litter enforcement team found 120 cubic metres of illegal building waste, equivalent to four truckloads of material, on August 31.
The size of the dumped rubbish indicates that it may be from a commercial operation.
City of Whittlesea officials are currently investigating and reviewing all available footage from the area, and are working alongside neighbouring councils and the Environment Protection Authority, EPA, who have been notified of the incident.
City of Whittlesea chief executive Craig Lloyd said council is ‘deeply disappointed’ in the dumping and would arrange removal of the illegally dumped material when investigations were completed.
“Illegally dumped rubbish not only creates an eyesore for residents and damages the environment, it also costs council hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to clean up,” he said.
Individuals who are found to dump illegal rubbish in reserves or by the side of road face large fines of up to $1817, and $9087 for companies.
To report illegally dumped rubbish, contact council on 9217 2170 or visit whittlesea.vic.gov.au/waste.
I consider the fines outlined in the article to be extremely weak for dumping rubbish illegally. No one ‘accidentally’ dumps rubbish like this, it is a conscious and deliberate decision.
We have rubbish, tyres and all manner if other things dumped near us almost fortnightly. The fines are not much more disposing of the rubbish lethally, so what sort of deterrent does the fine create or represent?
A $25,000 fine for individuals and $250,000 fine for small business and $2 million fine for large commercial business I think is a more appropriate deterrent and commensurate with the clear and contempt and disregard for the community.
*legally