Victorian complaints to councils about rubbish increase

Victorian residents are increasingly complaining to their council about one particular problem in their neighbourhood, new figures show.

Dumped rubbish is one of the most complained about problems. Picture: Supplied

Illegally dumped rubbish, graffiti and other gripes are plaguing Victorian neighbourhoods, with ratepayers making more than 330,000 complaints to their councils.

The reports were made via the Snap Send Solve app which allows people to directly send a photo of an issue to the responsible council or authority.

The latest 2022 data shows Victorians made 72,713 complaints to their councils last year about rubbish and bins, which includes dumped rubbish and litter – an 8 per cent jump on the previous year.

More than 50,000 complaints were also made about parks and council facilities, including overgrown grass at council-owned reserves and damaged playgrounds.

Parking including illegally parked vehicles in permit zones had 38,564 complaints, roads and signage (37,501) and graffiti and vandalism (30,529).

Dumped rubbish and graffiti are some of the most complained about issues to Victorian councils. Picture: Supplied

Roads and parking complaints grew by 65 per cent and 40 per cent respectively.

Overall, more than 336,000 requests from the app last year were sent to local councils, supermarket retailers and telcos, an increase of more than 8 per cent compared to the previous year.

It comes after it was revealed last month that donation bins and recycling hubs across Melbourne had been turned into disgusting dumping grounds as Victorians cleared out their junk over the holiday period.

The Herald Sun has also received a number of complaints from residents across Melbourne about the “concerning” state of their communities, with gripes about graffiti, overgrown grass, and dumped rubbish.

A graffiti complaint sent to the Snap Send Solve app. Picture: Supplied

Clothing recycling giant SCR Group national executive Alexis Todorovski said illegal dumping was a “growing problem” across the state.

“Dumping is becoming more and more of a problem every year – particularly over the New Year period we see a massive increase,” she said.

Ms Todorovski said mass amounts of items were being left outside charity bins, carparks and vacant land blocks.

“A lot of items that are dumped we can’t accept,” she said.

“They’re not clothing or shoes or accessories, they’re tyres, broken furniture and mattresses.”

Councils enforce fines under the Environment Protection Authority Act.

Individuals who litter less than 50 litres of items can be slapped with a $370 fine, and companies a $1849 fine.

People who dump dangerous goods can face on the spot fines of up to $740, and companies $3698.

The latest 2022 data shows Victorians made 72,713 complaints to their councils last year about rubbish and bins. Picture: Supplied

Ms Todorovski said councils need to have a more connected approach to distributing fines for illegal dumping across the state.

“Some councils are really proactive, and absolutely distribute fines,” she said.

“But there is a lack of consistency across the board and we think that contributes to the problem – some areas you can get caught and other areas you don’t.”

SCR Group customer experience leader Josie Jones said apps such as Snap Send Solve help create awareness of the severity of the issue.

“When you lodge a report on the app it sends through an email to the council and generates a case number, so councils are obliged to respond and you see a higher action rate,” she said.

Snap Send Solve founder and chief executive Danny Gorog said: “We always expect to see the more obvious and “in your face” community related issues rank among the most reported.” “It’s equally as rewarding to see the reports every time because it shows how determined the Victorian community members are to make a change,” he said.

“Nobody wants to walk through their neighbourhood and see rubbish, trip hazards and graffiti anywhere, it doesn’t look good.

Ratepayers made more than 330,000 complaints to their councils last year. Picture: Supplied

“So it’s really rewarding to see Victorians wanting better for their communities.”

Monash Council mayor Tina Samardzija said almost 7000 reports were made to the council from Snap Send Solve in the 2021-22 financial year.

“Reports received are reviewed and actioned as quickly as possible, and council has recently renewed our focus on keeping people up-to-date while this is happening,” she said.

Port Phillip Mayor Heather Cunsolo said the council received more than 19,000 requests from the community via the app.

“Our three biggest request types were dumped rubbish (40 per cent of all requests), illegally parked vehicles (9 per cent) and graffiti removal (7 per cent).

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