WATTLE Range Council has praised the community’s uptake of its waste disposal voucher system, which has seen incidents of illegal dumping almost eliminated across the district.
Under the scheme, Wattle Range ratepayers are given vouchers annually to dispose waste directly to council depots, equivalent to four bin-loads of rubbish.
It is one initiative being credited with limited illegal dumping across the district, with the issue hitting flashpoint last week after one of the region’s largest plantation owners called for the “dumping spree” to stop in forests amid skyrocketing costs for the sector.
“What (Wattle Range Council) did a number of years ago is that we made it free to take rubbish to the dump,” council chief executive Ben Gower said.
“But we found that when we did that, we would have vehicles coming up from Mount Gambier and elsewhere to dump their rubbish and that increased the cost for the council.
“So we implemented a voucher system, to ensure that only Wattle Range residents could dispose of their waste.”
Residents are now issued vouchers that allow them to dispose of what amounts to four four-wheeled SULO bins of rubbish.
“We did see a small spike in dumping after we introduced the voucher system, because the people who had come over to the district to put their rubbish in our depots were turned away,” Mr Gower said.
“We knew that it was not Wattle Range residents because we were dealing with people who were not very smart and they would leave their invoices in the rubbish by the roadside.”
Green Triangle Forest Products managing director Laurie Hein has spoken out over the upward spiral in illegal dumping across the broader Limestone Coast, which shows no signs of slowing.
“This is just a dangerous practice – asbestos is being dumped off trailers in the open. I cannot believe people are willing to take that risk with their own health by handling such hazardous material,” Mr Hein said.
He said the illegal rubbish dumping – including addressing greenwaste contamination – was costing the company more than $70,000 annually.
This material included used syringes, toxic material and general household rubbish.
There had also been a spike in the amount of greenwaste being dumped, which is spreading noxious weeds and plants within the estate.
The forest leader called on people to watch for illegal dumpers in plantation areas and report any illegal activity to their local council.
Conceding catching people was often a “needle in a haystack”, he said the industry deployed surveillance technology to catch perpetrators.
