Whittlesea council have issued a warning to rubbish dumpers after an increase in illegal dumping in the area.
In the last six months council’s litter enforcement team has issued over 60 fines to people illegally dumping rubbish on kerbsides, vacant blocks, and back streets.
Whittlesea chief executive Craig Lloyd said council had stepped up its surveillance of litter hot spots and was actively investigating incidences or issuing on the spot fines.
“Our litter enforcement team are out and about and are using a range of methods to track down and identify offenders, including cameras, information from the general public and sifting through the rubbish for identifying evidence,” he said.
“Officers were recently able to issue an infringement notice to a person who had dumped a large amount of waste on Vearings Road in Epping.
“The person responsible was issued with almost $6000 in fines and a clean-up notice for the rubbish.”
Mr Lloyd said people caught dumping rubbish face fines of up to $1850 for individuals and $9250 for companies.
“Unfortunately, some people still think they can get away with this sort of behaviour, but our message to them is that they will get caught. And we are encouraging residents who see littering to report it,” he said.
“Dumped rubbish not only creates an eyesore for residents, but can also cause significant damage to the environment.
“In addition, it also costs council and our ratepayers hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to clean up.”
Residents can report dumped rubbish at www.whittlesea.vic.gov.au/litter or by calling 9217 2170.
