Councils and agencies will receive a helping hand in their ongoing battle to crack down on illegal dumping of household and commercial waster.
19 projects will share in a $1.2 million grant funding windfall from the NSW Environment Protect Agency (EPA).
The agency says the money will fund these projects, to be run by councils and agencies, to crack down on the illegal dumping of waste like furniture, soil, construction and demolition rubble, mattresses, skips and tyres.
NSW EPA chief executive officer Tony Chappel says the problem faces just about every council in the state.
“We know almost every council in NSW is dealing with this problem and many are having to spend huge amounts just to manage it – money that could be going back into their communities instead,” he says.
“Illegal dumping damages our environment, puts pressure on councils and costs millions of dollars each year to clean up, leaving communities to deal with the mess.”
HELPING HAND FOR COUNCILS
He says the funding will allow hotspots to be targeted, offenders identified and waste cleaned up.
“From surveillance cameras to better waste services and public campaigns, these projects will help stop illegal behaviour and safeguard bushland, waterways and neighbourhoods,” Chappel says.
The EPA says recent state research shows illegal dumping is a problem for 98% of councils with one-in-seven spending more than $500,000 each year on clean-up and prosecuting.
The study also found bulky household items, such as furniture and mattresses, are the most frequently dumped materials while kerbsides, roadsides and bushland are the hardest-hit sites for dumping.
The EPA says six of the 19 projects will focus on preventing illegal dumping, six will trial on-site measures at dump sites like cameras, signs and awareness campaigns.
Four larger projects will have specific targets such as improving bulky waste collection services in Wagga Wagga, increasing surveillance along Henry Lawson Drive and boosting enforcement and clean-up efforts in Wollongong.
The remaining three projects will bring councils and agencies together over high-risk locations such as preventing dumping at Angus in Western Sydney, reducing bushland dumping in Lake Macquarie and protecting the Lake Nepean catchment along the Old Hume Highway.
The largest of them is the project to clean up, fence off and monitor Angus with $200,000 earmarked for the work by the Planning Ministerial Corporation.
For more details, visit: https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/illegal-dumping-prevention
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