'Disgraceful': Man slams dumpers after huge pile of rubbish left next to walking track
A resident of Shellharbour, south of Sydney, has shared their frustration after finding a pile of rubbish illegally dumped by a lakeside walking track.
“The lake foreshore is a beautiful part of our city, we are fortunate to have it and then someone dumps their rubbish,” the upset resident posted in the Oaks Flat Facebook group, along with images of a pile of rubbish dumped under trees.
“I suppose someone who has such a low regard for something so unique has a similar low regard for themselves,” he added.
‘Dirty rotten mongrels’
The images sparked outrage among locals in the group who agreed it was “disgraceful”.
“Dirty rotten mongrels,” one person responded.
“It really defies any sort of logic, let alone understanding or care,” another user responded.
One member of the group said they spotted similar incidents regularly and had taken a hands on approach to cleaning up the walking track.
“Happens way too often! Me and my husband are often picking up rubbish from the lake foreshore on our daily walks,” the woman wrote.
No council collection an issue
A few people in the group argued that illegal dumping wouldn’t be so prevalent if Shellharbour City Council offered no cost bulk kerbside collection a few times each year, similar to several other local councils around Australia.
“Maybe if council did a few yearly house pick ups like every other council this wouldn’t be a problem,” one person wrote.
“So many other councils do and people outside the area can't believe it doesn't happen here,” another person agreed.
A few others agreed, suggesting that local council should offer the service for free as many people wouldn’t have the means to transport bulky rubbish to tips and pay the hefty fees included.
Shellharbour Council said in a statement to Yahoo News Australia that it is a member of the Illawarra Shoalhaven Joint Organisation (ISJO) Regional Illegal Dumping (RID) program.
“This program brings together member councils (Wollongong, Shellharbour, Kiama, Shoalhaven Councils) to address issues surrounding illegal dumping in each local government area,” the statement said.
“The program supports councils though Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grants and other resources to conduct surveillance, target known hot spots and equip regulatory staff with necessary tools and equipment to facilitate the detection and clean-up of illegal dumping.”
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