Survey on litter, illegal rubbish dumping to help find top-five priorities

The online poll will help form an action plan to counter a "persistent problem" with rubbish thrown out improperly, the Loddon Mallee Waste and Resource Recovery Group hopes.

It comes as councils across the region become increasingly concerned about dumping, the group's executive officer Karen Fazzani said.

"In the last 12 months it's become an issue that councils have noticed. I cover eight council areas and most of them have talked about it," she said.

Many have found that there are people who will not use existing facilities, Ms Fazzani said.

It is difficult to know why that is, Ms Fazzani said.

"It's hard to track whose waste it is, unless they leave evidence of who they are," she said.

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Dumps in state forests and crown land are an ongoing issue, Forest Fire Management Victoria acting district manager Adrian Parker said.

"Our officers clean up loads of rubbish ranging in size from small items of household goods to large appliances (ie fridges, stoves and dishwashers), tyres, abandoned cars and demolition waste, including asbestos, he said.

Cleaning up dumped mess costs the community money, Mr Parker said.

"In addition to tip fees that are paid to properly dispose of the rubbish, forest officers must spend their time cleaning up rubbish rather than undertaking other activities that benefit all forest users such as roading works and provision of domestic firewood," he said.

Dumping rubbish on public land and carries an on the spot fine of $330 or up to $6,608 if prosecuted in court. Anyone with information about illegal dumping on public land can call DELWP at 136 186.

Surveys must be completed by midnight on Sunday 4 August and a workshop will be held later in the month, where findings will be presented to the public.

"Really, it's up to everybody to do the right thing and dispose of the waste they create in a responsible manner," Ms Fazzani said.

Click here to complete the survey.

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