Geelong roadside maintenance crews are appealing to the community to stop illegal dumping and save ratepayers money.
City of Greater Geelong has received more than 3000 requests to remove dumped rubbish during this financial year, with clean-up efforts costing ratepayers hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.
City Works roadside maintenance crew member Josh said 6619 requests to remove dumped rubbish were received during the 2024-25 financial year, with the problem becoming a daily issue.
“We clean it up, and then there’s more there tomorrow – it’s out of hand,” he said.
“Sometimes it might be furniture and mattresses, but then other times it can be really nasty, like needles, dirty nappies, there’s even been bottles of urine.
“People have gone out of their way to dump their rubbish, and we’re cleaning it up. When it’s really dirty, like needles, it feels like an attack…and we spend almost half our workday dealing with it.”
City Works roadside maintenance crew member Maycee said community vigilance and reporting were vital to stopping dumpers in their tracks and saving ratepayers from large clean-up costs.
“We make sure the community is safe, everything is in order, and nothing’s damaged, so if we didn’t do this job, the roads would be a lot dirtier and more dangerous,” she said.
“It takes a lot of work to fix things…and I’m not sure if people realise, but you get two free hard-waste bookings and two free mattress collections every year.
“All you have to do is go online, fill in your details, and they will come and pick it up for free.”
Geelong mayor Stretch Kontelj said enforcement action will be taken against illegal dumping, with littering infringements up to $2035.
“Infuriating is an understatement – illegal dumping is a despicable act,” he said.
“These people are spoiling the environment for everyone, and it costs an absolute fortune to go and pick up after them, so by working together, we send a clear message that dumping will not be tolerated.”
