Townsville City Council to crackdown on illegal dumping with $100,000 trial partnership

Illegal rubbish dumpers have been put on notice, as Townsville City Council prepares to crackdown on the messy issue.

ILLEGAL rubbish dumpers have been put on notice, as Townsville City Council prepares to crackdown on the messy issue.

The council is one of four in Queensland chosen to be part of a pilot partnership program with the Department of Environment and Science worth $100,000.

The grant, provided by the State Government, will allow the council to hire two full-time officers for six months to enforce any noncompliance.

The partnership program comes after the State Government introduced its new waste management and resource recovery strategy in the wake of the waste levy that came into effect on July 1.

RELATED

• Developers dirty over illegal dumping

• Townsville council considering cash offers to upgrade derelict sites

• Townsville council set to reject shops residents want to go ahead

According to the council, there were 224 reports of illegal dumping in the 2018/19 financial year, down from 350 the financial year before.

The council did not take anyone to court for illegal dumping in those financial years, although it is an option available to it if there is overwhelming evidence as to who was involved.

“Numbers have reduced over the past year, helped significantly by the council’s kerbside collection service, free green waste disposal, and ongoing education and awareness,” a spokeswoman said.

“Council will also increasingly use mobile CCTV cameras at illegal dumping hot spots.”

Cr Russ Cook said the program would be vital in targeting any illegal dumping.

“The funding will allow the council to employ two officers who will work with Department of Environment and Science staff to investigate and take action on illegal dumping.

“The program will fund the officers for six months initially and obviously we will be monitoring any impacts of the levy very closely and providing direct feedback to the Government.”

According to the council illegal dumping was a periodic problem, especially in the bushland outskirts of the city.

“Most people are responsible in how they dispose of waste, but there are cases where people are lazy and irresponsible and dump illegally to save a few bucks at the local landfill,” a spokeswoman said.

The council will prepare a monthly report for the State Government, the first of which will be completed in late September.

The recruitment process for the two officers is underway.

There are a range of fines that apply for illegal dumping, depending on the circumstances, including fines of up to $667,250 for corporations that are found to be illegally dumping waste.

Originally published as Townsville City Council to crackdown on illegal dumping with $100,000 trial partnership