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Residents of an Australian suburb are furious after large piles of rubbish appear mysteriously dumped right on the side of the road.
A resident living near Flynn Avenue, which runs through Middleton Grange and Austral in Sydney’s west, took to social media to warn drivers to watch out for the latest unexpected danger, especially when driving at night.
The rubbish appears to be waste building materials, such as cement bricks and wood, which could cause significant damage to a car – with some commenters calling it an “absolute joke” as people had been throwing them there.
“Be careful at the top of Flynn Avenue, once again someone has decided to dump illegally here, putting drivers at risk of an accident,” said the woman who shared the photo.
“Right at the top of an already narrow road with debris spilling onto the road…when are we going to do something about it?” she asked.
A resident of Sydney’s Liverpool Council area took to social media to complain that large piles of rubbish were being dumped right next to semi-rural roads (pictured)
The area where the rubbish piles appeared is in western Sydney parks, with lower traffic and fewer residential properties in the area, allowing trucks to dump the waste undetected.
The road is also not equipped with street lights, with some commenting on the post warning that the risk of driving could “kill someone”.
Another commenter on the post was furious at the brazen mess saying “people just need to stop being larvae”.
Liverpool council member Peter Harle said the problem had persisted for decades with new building projects in the area.
He pointed out the area will always be part of Western Sydney’s parks, with no housing, lighting or security, but is close to new housing developments, making it an ideal place to dispose of waste .
“Rural areas experience millions of dollars worth of illegal dumping each year. Normally, transportation to a landfill costs around $350 per ton. So if you have 10 tons of trash, that’s a lot of money that they’re saving by dumping it on roads that aren’t monitored,” he said. Yahoo News.
“What makes it more dangerous is that much of this material contains asbestos and will not be recovered by normal landfills.” They will not accept asbestos in waste. The money has to be transferred to a special area where they have to pay a lot more.
Illegal dumping of waste can be punishable by on-the-spot fines of several thousand dollars or more for those caught breaking the rules repeatedly.
According to the NSW Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), dumping waste in an unauthorized area is illegal and significant fines apply.
On-the-spot fines of $7,500 apply to individuals and $15,000 to businesses, the EPA says.
Repeat offenders and those who dump materials that could harm the environment face much heavier fines, up to $1 million, or even prison terms for “willful offenses.”
Liverpool City Council is installing CCTV systems at six known landfill sites in the council area.
But Mr Harle does not believe in its effectiveness and says that surveillance equipment has already been damaged or stolen, even if it was planted clandestinely.
He suggested that council rangers be tasked 24 hours a day with monitoring areas where frequent rubbish dumping occurs.
He said this could prove less expensive than having to install, maintain and replace CCTV equipment.