Environment Minister Andrew Powell announces new plan to reduce landfill waste

Discovering illegal waste dump sites in Townsville is a regular occurrence for Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service staff and now the authorities are cracking down, noting one troublesome spot in particular.

QPWS Senior Conservation Officer Craig Dunk with Thuringowa MP Natalie Marr, Environment Minister Andrew Powell and Mundingburra MP Janelle Poole at an illegal dump site in Townsville.

One of the worst ‘hot spots’ for illegal dumping in North Queensland has been identified, as the government pushes for a wider crackdown and a hotline for dobbing in offenders.

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service staff like senior conservation officer Craig Dunk frequently has to contend with illegal dumping and the time consuming task of removing it.

Frustratingly, incidents are on the rise, with statistics showing the number of reports of littering and illegal dumping has increased by 26 per cent in the last six months across Queensland.

Overlooking a recently discovered site along the Southern Port Road in Townsville, a hotspot for illegal dumping of rubbish, Mr Dunk said it is a process that costs time and money.

“On this particular reserve the department has moved over 100 tonnes of waste, most of which was burnt out and dumped cars,” he said.

“It’s very, very common. This is one of the hot spots in Townsville …”

Items such as fridges, washing machines, cars, bags of household and green waste are often found along areas of Townsville, which Mr Dunk said people stop, throw out and leave without a second thought.

QPWS conservation officers remove illegally dumped tyres from beside a road in Townsville.

“It’s very disappointing,” he said.

“We need to go through a process of investigating the waste and seeing if we can track down the offenders.

“There’s a cost and the cost is usually that our staff need to come out here and spend time cleaning up the waste, some of the waste may be hazardous. We have had examples of asbestos materials being dumped at this particular site.”

An illegal activity, fines for littering start at around $322 and range up $12,000 for those caught dumping large amounts of waste.

To combat the issue, Environment Minister Andrew Powell announced on Tuesday that the Crisafulli Government is getting “tough on waste”, launching a new online reporting system for members of the public to contact.

The State Government said the new Litter and Illegal Dumping Online Reporting System (LIDORS) has been upgraded to be user-friendly and have a modern interface.

Illegally dumped waste in Townsville.

“We want to work in partnership with councils like Townsville City Council and with the waste industry to come up with innovative solutions …” Mr Powell said.

Also announced is a new Queensland Waste Strategy designed to “map a way forward” to increase rates of recycling and reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

The $130 million Less Landfill, More Recycling Plan will see the government working with councils to come up with solutions to end illegal dumps and see more materials being recycled and reused.

“What we’ve heard in other places around the state is that challenges around landfill, the sites themselves, the costs involved, are what is potentially causing people to take the easy route,” Mr Powell said.

“It’s actually creating an environmental problem.”

Public consultation has recently opened for the strategy, with locals encouraged to have their say.

Members of the public are encouraged to report littering and illegal dumping to their local councils or via the online reporting tool.

Have your say on the new Queensland Waste Strategy and make a submission by 26 June via the State Government website.

Originally published as Environment Minister Andrew Powell announces new plan to reduce landfill waste