By Cameron Lucadou-Wells
TEN rubbish dumpers and scavengers were busted during a Greater Dandenong Council operation outside a Springvale charity store on Sunday.
The operation was prompted by the mass dumping of goods outside the St Vinnies store, and others in the municipality, on weekends.
On Sunday, the council’s litter prevention officer, in a marked car, observed seven soiled mattresses, bags of household garbage, couches with tears in them and clothes dumped on the footpath in front of the store.
Six people, ignoring a prominent ‘no dumping’ sign at the store, were fined for dumping rubbish and four for scavenging recyclable goods. Offenders face maximum $5600 fines.
Greater Dandenong city planning director Jody Bosman said after-hours ‘donors’ were a cost to charities, who have to pay to dispose the rubbish in landfill.
“Weekend dumpers give local charities a frustrating Monday morning mess to clean up, a landfill bill and make footpaths unsightly and difficult to use.”
The store accepts donations during opening hours on weekdays and until 5pm on Saturdays.
Meanwhile, the state government announced $1.5 million in grants for charity stores to offset landfill disposal costs.
Environment Minister Ryan Smith said $500,000 would also be provided for measures to stop illegal dumping at charities.
“We want to stop the unacceptable practice of people dumping waste on charities and leaving them with the burden of disposing the unsellable junk,” Mr Smith said.
“Leaving broken, old, stained or unusable items such as televisions, computers, fridges, beds and dirty mattresses or sofas outside charity op-shops and bins is not donating, it’s dumping.”
If you see a rubbish dumper, record their vehicle registration and report it to Environment Protection Authority’s (EPA) pollution hotline on 1300 372 842 (1300 EPA VIC).
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