Driving along Melton’s highways, rural roads and streets of new housing estates, it’s impossible not to notice them: the piles of old mattresses, tyres and random household or construction waste strewn across the outer-western municipality.
And the problem is costing the local council a mint. More than $3 million has been spent so far this financial year cleaning up more than 6000 tonnes of illegally dumped rubbish – enough to fill about 200 large garbage trucks.
Melton Mayor Steve Abboushi wants more state action on illegal dumping. Credit: Paul Jeffers
The council has now spearheaded a push to call for state-led reform to crack down on a rising scourge of illegal dumping that disproportionately affects outer-metropolitan areas.
At a Municipal Association of Victoria meeting, the state’s 79 councils unanimously voted for a resolution put forward by Melton council urging the Victorian government to develop a prevention and education plan to combat illegal dumping.
The motion, which was classified as a significant priority, also asks the government to divert money collected from the waste levy to help heavily impacted councils and increase resources for more enforcement by the Environment Protection Authority. Currently, policing is shared between councils and the environment authority.
MAV president Jennifer Anderson said illegal dumping had become a major issue that required a uniform statewide approach.
“The fact that the resolution was passed unanimously highlights that the local government sector appreciates the impact this has on councils where it is taking place,” she said.
Melton Mayor Steve Abboushi said local governments could not afford to keep working in silos – a lot of rubbish tossed in outer areas comes from outside these municipalities, with some cowboy operators choosing to dump illegally rather than pay tip fees.
Abboushi said almost half of people fined by Melton council for illegally dumping rubbish lived outside the municipality.
He said the clean-up was costing the council 50 per cent more now than two years ago, and the issue is frustrating locals, some of whom have found junk thrown on their front yard.
Illegally dumped waste by the side of Holden Road, Diggers Rest, within the City of Melton. Credit: Paul Jeffers
Abboushi said this was despite efforts to stem the problem with a mobile CCTV camera program in dumping hotspots, two free hard-waste pick-ups a year for residents and free recycling of items such as paint and engine oil.
“What breaks my heart is imagining what we could do with $3 million for building desperately needed community facilities and fixing roads. Instead, we’re unfortunately spending money on something that is quite avoidable,” he said.
Hume City Council, which takes in Melbourne’s northern fringe, is spending $5 million a year on cleaning up illegally dumped rubbish and incorrect waste disposal – double what was being spent five years ago.
Last July, the council introduced five free annual waste vouchers for residents, and in 2023 it launched a successful service that deploys a dedicated team to dumping locations to engage directly with residents.
Hume Mayor Jarrod Bell said the issue was too big for councils to handle alone.
“It’s time for stronger penalties [and] more co-ordinated enforcement,” he said.
City of Wyndham Mayor Mia Shaw said illegal dumping cost the outer-western council $6.1 million over the past five years, including $1.4 million in 2024.
“This is an unfair impost on all our residents,” Shaw said. “The majority of illegal dumping falls into two categories – commercial dumping, particularly around new housing sites, with soil and building waste dumped on rural roads and the urban fringe, and household goods, often from tenants vacating rental properties.”
Stefan Koomen, mayor of the City of Casey in Melbourne’s outer south-east, agreed a co-ordinated approach was needed to tackle illegal dumping. He said Casey residents had been increasingly concerned about the impact on the area’s waterways and wildlife.
Barriers to getting rid of hard rubbish are often blamed as key contributors to illegal dumping, such as the cost and travel involved in taking junk to tips, or difficulty with council waste collection booking systems.
Jeff Angel, director of anti-waste organisation Boomerang Alliance, said rubbish and recycling capacities needed to be vastly improved. Angel said this should be partly funded by the private companies that create the products that are eventually disposed of.
Credit: Matt Golding
“If you want to prevent dumping in the environment, there’s going to be a cost, so as much as possible, that cost should be on the producers of the materials [being dumped],” he said.
A spokesman for Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos said the EPA had stepped up its response to waste crime over the past year, focusing on tackling the rise in illegally dumped tyres and asbestos, using advanced intelligence.
“We have given the EPA greater powers to crack down on illegal dumping, including tougher penalties for repeat offenders,” he said. “The EPA is working with local government across the state, along with industry and community to address illegal dumping through its illegal waste disposal program.”
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