By Bridget Clarke and Faith Bugeja
A drive out to the Melton Reservoir reveals some shocking sights. Against the backdrop of the seemingly pristine lake lies a stained mattress, tires, empty cans, ropes and piles of litter.
Disappointingly, these scenes are not rare across Melbourne’s western suburbs.
Brimbank, Hobsons Bay, Maribyrnong, Melton, Moonee Valley and Wyndham Councils are all fighting a seemingly losing battle against both commercial dumping and household dumping known as fly-tipping.
Illegal dumping poses many health and safety risks. The disposal of chemicals and appliances can damage land and waterways, create fire hazards and affect the liveability and appearance of residential areas.
The dumping of commercial waste has been plaguing Victoria for years, with the industry rife with dodgy operators. While the unauthorised disposal of waste carries a maximum penalty of $10,000 there is lax enforcement of regulations from the EPA which thrusts the responsibility onto local councils.
According to the EPA, commercial dumping of building materials costs Victorians more than $30 million in clean-up costs. $1.3 million of that has been spent by the Wyndham City Council.
Wyndham Council has undertaken numerous initiatives to try and combat illegal rubbish dumping.
The Keep Wyndham Clean campaign was launched in 2021 and involved increased patrolling and use of CCTV in residential areas as well as the introduction of a fleet of rubbish removal vehicles.
While in March this year the Council reported a 38 percent decrease in household dumping, large-scale commercial dumping has increased.
Despite council efforts to combat the issue, residents throughout the west feel like a substantial response has yet to be made.
Point Cook resident Bruce Boddington, is the vice chair of NatureWest, a not-for-profit landcare network, and he also leads the Wyndham Litter Warriors.
“We work together on demand and with a few local groups who nominate if and when they want a clean up in their local area,” says Boddington. “We blitz an estate or neighbourhood with trucks and pick up all the dumping they can’t find.”
He says in the five years he has been participating in the pick-ups, dumped commercial materials have grown to be his biggest concern.
“Polystyrene waffle pods, plumbing materials and tiles, bits associated with building sites … it’s all dumped in a sequence,” he says.
“Skips tend to overflow and then, because of budgetary constraints building sites don’t get them emptied enough”
“Some tradies think if we just chuck it out the window the little fairy will pick it up”
The Wyndham City Council offers three free hard rubbish collections each financial year for residents. There are also six nearby waste transfer stations, or tips, in the western metropolitan region: Wyndham City Council Refuse Disposal Facility, Moonee Valley Transfer Station, Brimbank Resource Recovery Centre, Melton Recycling Facility, Municipal Tip Werribee and Kealba Landfill Sunshine.
Boddington says that contrary to popular opinion, tip fees are not the cause of widespread dumping.
“Wyndham has a really good system of hard waste. Hard waste collections are free and done on demand as opposed to regular scheduling … I just don’t know how this came to be such an issue.” says Boddington, but he believes raising awareness of the services available is of primary importance.
Keilor Downs resident and local litter hero Julian Reynolds, says the same issues are occurring in the Brimbank municipality.
Every Saturday and Sunday from 5:30am, he collects bags of rubbish to try and “set a good example.”
“I’ve been connecting with the local council, trying to get some more litter runs and get them to do a little bit more work around the area,” he says.
Brimbank Council already spends about $1 million per year to clean up waste.
Over in the City of Melton Jono Ingram has founded We love Aintree, a community group which helps clean up dumped rubbish.
“Illegally dumped rubbish in a growing suburb happens every single day,” he says.
“Sometimes I think it’s lack of education. People just don’t realise. And if they knew, they might stop. I think for other people though it is just a lack of care. They just could not care less about it. And for them, it’s an easy, simple, cheap free thing to do … it’s a laziness thing,” he says.
Susan Gayle, the CEO of the WMAA (Waste Management Association of Australia), says for the situation to improve, individuals need to be held more accountable for their actions.
“State governments across the country have taken steps to attack illegal dumping including increased penalties and the use of CCTV in known hotspots,” she said.
“WMRR argues penalties should be significantly higher to act as a proper deterrent to this illegal activity.”
Report to or contact the EPA if you see any illegally dumped rubbish:
Number: 1300 372 842
Email: contact@epa.vic.gov.au
