Annual cleanup marred by illegal dumping
Dungog Shire Council’s annual bulky waste clean-up has been marred by illegal dumping and residents putting out “non complying items”, to the frustration of organisers.
Council's Manager Environmental Services, Paul Minett said the annual two-week clean-up is a much appreciated and anticipated community service.
“The annual bulky waste clean-up is never pretty, however it is the most cost effective way for the council to provide a service which has come to be expected by the community,” Mr Minett said.
“Most residents do the right thing, place their waste out at the right time and don’t include items that are prohibited for one reason or another.
“Others just view the service as an opportunity to rid themselves of waste that is otherwise costly to dispose of legally, such as asbestos and tyres, or to clean out whole households of unwanted goods.
“The mentality is that once it's on the kerb it’s the council's problem, but there is a cost to the community of this attitude.”
Mr Minett referred to the dumping of a large quantity of metal piping that contained what appeared to be asbestos lagging on the corner of Salisbury and Chichester roads at Munni which exposed the waste contractors and any person passing by to a potential health hazard.
Other non-compliant wastes have included full paint tins, cooking oil and chemicals.
“In previous years our problem waste was mattresses and whilst some of these have been placed out this year, our issue seemed to be more with the hazardous wastes such as asbestos, chemicals, paints and gas bottles.
“Car tyres are also a problem as they are not acceptable at our waste facility under its EPA licence and the additional cost of disposal at a specialised facility is one that is borne by our ratepayers.”
Mr Minett advised that the annual clean-up is often the subject of complaint to council due to the unsightly appearance of waste on the kerbside in the lead up and during the period taken to complete it.
This, along with potential safety issues to pedestrians and motorists has seen many larger councils opting out of kerbside bulky waste collection in favour of call-up collections by contractors.
This option was explored by council during the last waste collection contract process but proved to be cost prohibitive, Mr Minett said.