Four truckloads of rubbish dumped in CBD street

LEAVING goods for charity shops in the street may cop you a $2000 fine.

Dumping in Eggins Lane in the middle of the Lismore CBD is commonplace. Image 2 (below): The sign Council will begin placing in public areas where people are dumping to advise them fines apply. Picture: Lismore City Council

FOUR truck loads of waste was dumped in a Lismore CBD lane over the Christmas break, the road was impassable.

Environmental Compliance Officer Stuart Thomson said motorists could not drive along Eggins Lane over Christmas as it was blocked by items left at the rear of the Salvation Army building.

Local business owners were unable to access the lane for deliveries and four truckloads of waste were removed.

While those leaving the items may have thought they were donating to charity, but it's actually illegal.

Mr Thomson warned leaving items outside op shops or charities when the organisation is closed may constitute an offence in relation to the unlawful disposal of waste, which carries penalties from $2000.

Dumped rubbish warning sign. Picture: Lismore City Council

Most of the major charity buildings are monitored by CCTV cameras and the council intends to look at footage with a view to issuing fines for future offences.

"Dumping costs charities thousands of dollars every year in tip fees and volunteers spend countless hours cleaning up and sorting rubbish and transporting it to the tip,” Mr Thomson said.

"We are encouraging people to only use clearly marked donation bins or to deliver items to these charities during normal operating hours where they can be received or rejected by staff. Any item that has not been formally accepted by the charity and is left unattended in a public place will be considered waste.”

Dumping items also encourages people to rummage through the articles and take items of value, leaving nothing but rubbish for the charities to clean up and dispose of.

"The idea of donating good quality, unwanted items to charity is to assist these charities financially so that they can help the vulnerable and needy people in our community,” he said.

"My concern is that some people have begun to see dumping at op shops as an entitlement and believe these organisations have an obligation to deal with their unwanted household goods.

"This is absolutely not the case - and it's got to stop. People need to take personal responsibility for what they are taking to charities and if it is waste they need to dispose of it in an environmentally satisfactory manner.”

Mr Thomson said the most baffling thing was that residents and businesses are entitled to dispose of waste for free via the council's electronic waste voucher system.

"Council offers residents three free visits and businesses two free visits to the Lismore Recycling and Recovery Centre each year,” he said.

"You can apply for a voucher easily online or over the phone, and you will have the voucher within two working days. We urge people to use this system and take waste to the Lismore Recycling and Recovery Centre where it can be placed in the Revolve Shop, recycled or taken to landfill.

"It is a shame that we have reached this point but it's time for council to step in and take some action. Our message is simple - do the right thing or face a fine. You have been warned.”

To apply for a free waste voucher, visit www.northernriverswaste.com.au or phone [phone].