Gerald Lynch
Hume council is continuing to investigate ways to address a dumped rubbish epidemic throughout the municipality.
At the March 25 council meeting, the council discussed the prospect of communal skip bins being placed throughout the municipality to give residents an easy way to dispose of rubbish without illegally dumping.
Councillor Jim Overend raised the notice of motion to try and help address the huge problem of dumped rubbish.
Councillor Carly Moore said she is in full support of offering communal skips as part of council’s hard waste collection commitments.
“The problem we are experiencing in our city is very significant, and I don’t think we can say anything is off the table,” she said. “I am worried about just how much rubbish it may attract, but certainly we need to consider all options because it is absolutely out of control.”
Councillor Jack Medcraft said it was time to think outside of the box to combat the influx of dumped rubbish.
“We haven’t got bins out there and it’s encouraging people to dump, and costing us $4.7 million per year,” he said. “If we get a 30 metre bin and we drop it in a dead spot where people are dumping illegally on a regular basis… it would have to be a complete idiot who would dump it on the ground next to the bin.”
Residents in Hume currently have access to a weekly kerbside bin collection service, two tip passes, two hard waste collections, regular mulching days, quarterly Hume clean up days and publicly accessible bins in parks, facilities and shopping strips-centres.
However, rubbish being dumped illegally throughout the area and has causing headaches for Hume council, with a clean up cost of $4.7 million in the 2022-23 financial year.
A feasibility study will be considered by council officers and the findings will be bought to a future council meeting.
Councillors had already suggested a motion to send out information cards to residents, with officers to come back with a cost at a later council meeting.
