By Laura Michell
Building a new tip in Hume’s northern growth corridor could help combat the area’s growing rubbish dumping problem, according to a Hume councillor.
Cr Jim Overend has asked council officers to prepare a report into the possibility of a new Resource Recovery Centre being built in Hume’s north.
The council currently has two Resource Recovery Centres – at Bolinda Road in Campbellfield and Riddell Road in Sunbury.
Cr Overend said residents in the municipality’s north are driving about 20 kilometres, often along heavily congested roads, to access their closest Resource Recovery Centre at Bolinda Road.
“It takes quite a long time to get there,” he said. “I believe this is a contributing factor to the growing illegal dumping of rubbish in the area.
“Building a new Resource Recovery Centre in the north and promoting it properly may eliminate many of these problems we are facing as it will be more accessible for residents in the northern growth corridor.”
As reported by Star Weekly, rubbish is increasingly being illegally dumped in Craigieburn, prompting the council to launch a pilot education campaign in the area.
In March, the council removed 40 cubic metres of waste – including cardboard boxes, old mattresses, bikes, prams and bags of rubbish – from land on Highlander Drive.
The council said 17 people would be fined over the rubbish pile, which mayor Joseph Haweil described as “unsightly”.
At the time, Cr Haweil said illegally dumped rubbish cost ratepayers $2.8 million each year to clean up.
“We know our community is fed up with this rubbish and so are we,” he said.
“It… damages our environment, frustrates our residents undermines our property values.”
Meanwhile, Cr Naim Kurt has called on the council to review its tip fees amid ongoing complaints about the cost from residents.
Currently it costs $25 to dispose of a sedan boot of mixed waste at Hume tips, rising to $260 for a heaped tandem-axle trailer of mixed waste.
“If we are a council that is serious about combating waste… we should look at our tip fees,” Cr Kurt said.
