By Troy Edwards, acting CEO
Illegal rubbish dumping is on the rise and is a growing concern for the Greater Geelong region.
Illegal dumping means deliberately leaving, tipping or burying waste on private or public land.
Dumped rubbish is detrimental to our health, environment and wildlife. It sullies our beautiful region and can have a lasting impact by polluting our natural environment.
Frequently dumped materials such as contaminated soil and building materials can pose serious health risks and can also be fire hazards.
Unfortunately, illegal rubbish dumping is a persistent issue and frequently occurs outside op shops, which costs both time and money to clean up.
This problem has prompted a new solution that is helping turn the tide on monitoring dumping incidents.
In partnership with InnerVision Services, the City has installed a semi-autonomous system to help tackle illegal dumping outside a Salvation Army store in North Geelong.
By using computer vision, artificial intelligence and machine learning, the system dramatically reduces the staff’s workload by quickly detecting unlawful dumping in CCTV footage.
Since the system was installed in January, the City has issued 26 infringements for illegal dumping at this location.
Illegal dumping and littering can attract heavy fines. On the spot fines start at $322 and can increase up to $9900 when issued by a court.
Illegal dumping is not only harmful to our natural environment and the aesthetics of our city, but also costs the community approximately $1 million each year.
We encourage residents to report illegally dumped rubbish online at geelongaustralia.com.au or by calling 5272 5272.
You can also help preserve our city by ensuring you dispose of your rubbish responsibly and choose the appropriate option when getting rid of unwanted materials.
As a reminder, each residential household can book two hard waste and two mattress collections per financial year. Hard waste collections are not available for commercial properties or vacant land.
This is an opportunity to responsibly get rid of waste such as whitegoods, furniture, electronics and timber.
A comprehensive list of what can and cannot be included in hard waste collections, as well as size limits, is available online.
It’s important to be aware that hard waste can quickly become dumped rubbish if it’s not left out correctly.
Please ensure that you will be living at the property for the whole week of your scheduled collection and that items are only put out on the Sunday before collection week.
You can book in your hard waste collection at geelongaustralia.com.au/hardwaste
Alternatively, waste can be dropped off at one of our resource recovery centres located at Douro Street, North Geelong and Becks Road, Drysdale.
By disposing of waste correctly and notifying the City of instances of illegal waste dumping, we can protect the health of our community and environment.
