EPA encourages residents to report illegal rubbish dumping

The Illegal Waste Disposal Strikeforce Program focuses on illegal dumping by skip bin operators.

It will also look at the disposal of construction and demolition waste and stockpiling of waste tyres.

Chris Webb from EPA’s Illegal Waste Disposal Strikeforce said the Victorian bush is used as a dumping ground for skip bin loads of rubbish far too often.

“The faster EPA hears about an illegally dumped load of waste, the faster we can do something about tracking down the culprit, prosecuting them and having the mess cleaned up,” Mr Webb said.

“The problem is serious, there are fly-by-night skip bin hire firms that specialise in dodging the cost of proper recycling and disposal by abandoning tonnes of waste wherever and whenever they can.

“That illegal dumping contaminates the environment and is unfair competition for the honest skip bin businesses that pay the fees for proper disposal and recycling.”

Dump sites often include construction and demolition waste, hazardous materials such as asbestos and household rubbish.

Over two years, EPA has undertaken nearly 350 illegal dumping related inspections, issued 175 enforcement notices requiring clean ups, conducted 15 prosecutions and issued more than 20 Penalty Infringement Notices.

Damage done by illegal dumping is heavy with local Councils across the state spending around $30 million every year cleaning up abandoned waste.

EPA can issue legally enforceable clean up notices and fines that start in the thousands of dollars and can be in the hundreds of thousands if the case goes to court.

“Illegal dumping creates an eyesore and can contaminate the soil and nearby waterways, and the cost of the clean up is too often left to the community or landholders,” Mr Webb said.

“EPA has an Illegal Waste Disposal Strikeforce dedicated to reducing the dumping of large scale industrial waste.  During the last two years we have inspected hundreds of sites for illegal dumping and issued more than 170 clean up notices,” he said.

“A report from a camper, a bushwalker or other member of the public identifying an illegal dumping site can help us keep up the pressure.”

Anyone with information about illegal dumping is encouraged to report it to EPA by calling 1300 EPA VIC (1300 372 842) or via the website www.epa.vic.gov.au