Take responsibility for your own rubbish - pay the money - take it to the tip. Hospice shops, Salvation Army and City Mission are grateful for GOOD QUALITY, USABLE furniture and they do not appreciate being used as a dump. Take it to the tip yourself or hire a skip - this is the responsible way.
Our Council should make it very clear through signage, that illegal dumping will attract heavy fines. Our cousins, 2000kms to the west have many of these signs very obviously located, where such acts of vandalism may occur.
Similarly, what about our 'lock it or lose it' signs? I even spotted one the other day which told me that thieves operated in the area and I should act accordingly! What is this - a dedicated criminals' work space. We have this so wrong - it is back to front. It is the would be crims who need to be scared of consequence. Recently at Bethells we counted 8 piles of broken window glass and only a few non descript 'lock it or lose it' signs. These vehicles were obviously locked but they still lost it. The warnings should be much larger and aimed to scare the thief of the effect that they may be video recorded and if apprehended subject to substantial penalties. I am sure tourists, like us, feel quite insecure leaving their locked, alarmed vehicles parked whilst taking in the local scenery.
Article in The Age 28.10.12
Government may crack down on illegal dumping.
THE state government is considering installing more CCTV cameras and beefing up security to help charities deal with the growing number of people illegally dumping rubbish.
While illegal dumping has always been a problem, industry sources say it is getting worse as the community fails to adapt to higher landfill levy charges, which have increased from $9 a tonne to $48.40 a tonne within the past three years.
"We see everything from dead animals, soiled mattresses, kitchen waste, broken bikes . . .," said Kerryn Caulfield, from the National Association of Charitable Recycling Organisations. "We're very grateful for good-quality donations, but you've got to educate the public about what is recyclable and what is not."
Figures from the Salvos Stores suggest that in 2009-10, it cost the charity about $1.1 million to remove unwanted waste. This year, the cost is expected to exceed $2 million.
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Salvos Stores sustainability and waste manager Donald Munro said charities had always had a "rubbish problem", but the recent increase in illegal dumping "was pretty dramatic and took us by surprise".
"The public is price sensitive, and it's costing money to take stuff to the tip, so people think it's far easier to go around the corner and put it on our doorstep," he said.
Environment Minister Ryan Smith said he was aware of the concerns and was talking to the industry about a range of measures, including greater signage, fencing and CCTV cameras. The government also recently provided charities with $2 million to spend on landfill levy relief and security options.
"By and large there are people out there who are doing the wrong thing, and I've heard some horrendous stories about things getting dumped that shouldn't," Mr Smith said. "We're talking [to charities] about a range of different things. A CCTV camera, for instance, would pick up a rego plate, perhaps, and you could go back and possibly prosecute a person in that way."
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