An East Warburton resident reported a “disgraceful” act of illegal dumping on Tuesday 8 July which disrupted a public bus service.
Donna McIntosh was driving along Woods Point road when she saw LPG gas bottles, a fridge, tyres and other bits of scrap metal strewn across the road.
“To dump it as brazen as that in daylight at the side of the main road is quite a disgraceful act, actually,” Ms McIntosh said.
She was prompted to raise the matter with the council when the rubbish blocked the 683 bus from accessing the Rupert Road/Woods Point Road bus stop.
“They [the bus] couldn’t access the road properly or the bus stop, so I decided to ring the Yarra Ranges Council directly and say, ‘look, this is urgent. It really can’t wait for it to be processed through the systems.’”
A Yarra Ranges Council spokesperson confirmed the report was assigned to a crew to inspect in the coming days.
“A community member reported illegally dumped rubbish in East Warburton at 10am on Tuesday.
“Our teams respond to requests across our 55 towns, and prioritise work based on potential risk to the community.”
The rubbish was cleared later that afternoon, but it was unclear who was responsible for cleaning it up, as neither the council nor the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) got rid of the rubbish.
The council sent out crews to the site Tuesday afternoon but there was no rubbish left, and the DTP too sent out a team which found nothing.
A DTP spokesperson urged people to be mindful of the impacts roadside dumping has on the environment.
“Our crews carry out regular maintenance inspections of the arterial road network to ensure it remains safe and clear of any hazards.”
Ms McIntosh said in her Facebook post an unmarked truck collected the rubbish.
Illegal dumping is a serious offence which can attract hefty fines and penalties, with household and liquid waste being the most common types of dumped waste.
But, tyres were among the dumped waste reported by Ms McIntosh, which the Environmental Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) states is a major fire risk.
Ms McIntosh said there were no excuses for dumping rubbish illegally.
“There are more than enough ways of disposing of rubbish.
“Okay, tip fees are high, but even so I don’t believe it’s any excuse whatsoever for that sort of behaviour.
“If it’s a local, then it’s even worse, to think that someone who lives around here thinks that’s perfectly fine,” Ms McIntosh said.
