Illegal rubbish dumping threatens 4WD hotspot

Piles of litter have locals worried the track could soon be closed to the public.

Rubbish at the site

THE illegal dumping of rubbish at a popular Redbank Plains four-wheel driving hotspot has once again marred a young family’s day out.

Redbank Plains woman Alicia McLaren took to social media on Wednesday evening, revealing the ugly sight of garbage littered across bushland at Blackheath Rd.

“We decided after all this COVID stuff had died down, and for our own mentality, to take a little four-wheel drive trip with a friend and some of our children,” she said.

“Basically as soon as we got into the entrance, I saw a bit of rubbish, so I took a few photos but as we got further into the bush it got a lot worse.”

Illegal dumpers leave trails of rubbish through the woodland.

Sadly, it was not the first time she had encountered such grotty displays.

“We’ve been there before over the years and it hasn’t really been that bad, but now it just seems to be out of control.”

Strewn throughout were hard rubbish items such as a broken couch and mattress, along with old doonas and an overwhelming amount of general waste.

“It was just really upsetting to see,” she said.

Ms McLaren said she worried the discovery would prompt Ipswich City Council to close the track to recreational drivers in a bid to kerb the issue.

Illegal dumpers leave trails of rubbish through the woodland.

“There’s just not many tracks for us, the 4WD community, to go on anymore,” she said.

“A lot of people would be really upset if it was closed because it’s one of the last tracks left around the Ipswich area.”

“I also worry about the toxic waste threat posed to people who frequent the tracks and the environment,” she said.

She believed similar instances had led to recent closures of recreational tracks at Ripley, Savages Crossing and Twin Bridges.

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Illegal dumpers leave trails of rubbish through the woodland.

Mayor Teresa Harding said the council took reports of illegal dumping seriously and workers would continue to actively monitor and act on all reports.

“Council is currently investigating reports of illegal dumping on Griffiths Road and Greenwood Village Road in Redbank Plains,” she said.

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Illegal dumpers leave a trail of hard rubbish items through the woodland.

Workers have reportedly removed more than 500,000 litres of waste across Ipswich; 23 infringements have been issued since July last year.

“Illegal dumping is a major issue across the state, polluting our environment and costing millions of dollars to manage and clean-up each year.”

Cr Harding said increased efforts to prevent and manage illegal dumping would be accelerated through a specialised program with the Department of Environment and Science.

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