Charlotte Varcoe
ILLEGAL waste dumping in the region’s forests and rural areas remains a significant issue with one plantation owner expecting to increase its spend on cleaning up forests by up to 50pc this year.
OneFortyOne Plantations expects to spend up to $60,000 this year on the removal of dumped waste within its forests, having previously allocated upwards of $40,000 to contracted waste removalists to dispose of illegally dumped rubbish.
The company’s silviculture manager Gary Pearson said illegal waste dumping – including tyres and asbestos – was common in the region’s forests and had a high removal cost.
He said contractors were scheduled to remove the continuous flow of rubbish in the area and moved through popular dumping spots three to four times a week.
“Besides the general household waste we typically find building materials including asbestos that is often dumped in the plantation,” Mr Pearson said.
“This poses a risk to staff, contractors and the public that may use our forest for recreation purposes and our contractors are not able to keep up with the amount of rubbish that is dumped.”
Grant District Council has historically dealth with instances of roadside dumping across its expansive network of rural roads outside of the Mount Gambier city limits.
Council acting environmental services director Aaron Price said staff had constantly observed large items such as televisions, mattresses and furniture illegally disposed of along unmade tracks in the region and in some instances trailer loads of rubbish had been dumped.
“It is a tricky situation because you don’t know what is in the rubbish, whether there are syringes or asbestos and our rangers head out there, inspect it and sometimes they can take it to the transfer stations but other times we do need to bring in contractors to dispose of it properly,” Mr Price said.
“We do try to look for identification material through the waste whether that could be personal property or legal documents and we do try and trace it back to the person but it can be challenging.
“There are times where we give them the opportunity to dispose of it legally but there are times where that does not become an option.”
Despite the ongoing impact on the region’s forests and cost to OneFortyOne, Mr Pearson said the Green Triangle Forest would continue to remain open for the public to use recreationally.
He believed having rubbish in view detracted people from recreational use of the forest, while it also posed an environmental, biological and safety hazard.
Mr Pearson believed a potential solution for the issue was for Mount Gambier City Council to reduce waste disposal fees, issue annual waste disposal vouchers or continue its hard rubbish kerbside removal, which was trialled last year.
City Council infrastructure general manager Barbara Cernovskis labelled the continued illegal waste disposal as “disappointing and irresponsible” and said waste management was one of the largest costs to the community and remained an issue which impacted all.
“The reality is that waste disposal is going to become more expensive and the only way to stabilise costs associated with waste is for everyone to play a part in responsibly managing their rubbish,” Ms Cernovskis said.
“Waste management requires behaviour change and the council encourages residents to be responsible consumers and think about how items will be disposed of at the point of purchase.”
Ms Cernovskis said the provision of free waste disposal vouchers was a “confusing message” as waste disposal consistently came at a cost and said council instead encouraged ratepayers to consider their personal environmental impact at home.
She said despite council collecting more than 450 tonnes of items and materials during the six-month hard waste kerbside collection trial, the initial cost for council was significant the viability of a similar service remained under investigation.
HAVE YOUR SAY – editorial@tbwtoday.com.au
