Georgia Tacey
Hume council is calling for higher penalties for illegal dumpers.
At the June 10 council meeting, Cr Naim Kurt successfully put forward a notice of motion to request an immediate review of the penalty amounts assigned to littering and dumping offences under the Environment Protection Act 2017.
The current maximum penalties under the act mean council can issue a maximum on the spot fine of $395 for individuals and $1976 for corporations caught illegally dumping under 50 litres of litter.
“Every week we hear from residents frustrated about the dumped mattresses, the broken furniture, the household junk, and the commercial waste sometimes left on our nature strips, parks and laneways. It’s a blight on our streets and I think a burden on our ratepayers,” Cr Kurt said.
Cr Kurt said council has invested significantly to fight back against dumpers, saying “if you dump in Hume, you will be caught and you will be called out”.
“The cost to clean up these dumps is often three to four times that amount for ratepayers,” he said.
“Even worse, some of the data I got last year was that 80 per cent of illegal dumpings in Hume are often done by people who don’t even live in our community.
“They see our wide open spaces, come into the industrial zones, our generous areas here and they dump their rubbish willy-nilly and without thought because the penalties are too low to care.”
As part of his motion, council will be writing to the state government and environment minister, Municipal Association of Victoria, and the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to request for the review.
Council will also be ramping up its social media campaigns on the issue, to make the community aware this isn’t just a council issue.
A state government spokesperson said the EPA has increased activity in the past year to target illegal dumping, specifically of dumped waste tyres and asbestos as incidents have risen across the state.
The spokesperson also confirmed the maximum court penalty for businesses is $3,951,800, and for individuals $800,000 or five years imprisonment, or both.
“Illegal dumping has an impact on local communities and environment and that’s why we have given the EPA greater powers to crack down on illegal dumping, including tougher penalties for repeat offenders,” the spokesperson 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, which aims to disrupt systematic illegal waste disposal.”
