THE war on illegal dumping has intensified with grants to help Port Stephens Council curb the practice.
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Having made inroads at various hot spots the council has won state government grants worth $45,000 and $110,000 to continue the campaign, as announced Monday.
That brings spending on waste prevention to $188,000 in a month, including the $33,000 announced for litter prevention at the start of July.
The $45,000 from the Cleaner Spaces, Positive Places program goes toward signs to deter people from illegal dumping. The signs will state the the penalties and community groups like Raymond Terrace Tidy Towns along with Soldiers Point and Salamander Land Care Group, will help monitor the sites.
The council will clean-up sites periodically and install concrete blocks, mounds and logs to prevent dumper access. Sites will then be revegetated.
The project will also involve YouTube videos, social media posts and newspaper features showing community group members working to stop illegal dumping.
"This program is a great example of council working together with the local community for a common outcome,” council general manager Wayne Wallis said.
“The funding will expand on the success of the first stage of the Cleaner Places, Positive Spaces program, which saw an 80 per cent reduction in illegal dumping in designated hot spots.”
The $110,000 grant from the Combating Illegal Dumping program, takes council’s efforts a step further. In addition to barriers and clean-up measures there’ll be cameras and lighting.
The funds will facilitate a stakeholder forum to work with land managers in the area including Hunter Water, Local Land Services, National Parks and Wildlife Services, Worimi Local Aboriginal Lands Council, Roads and Maritime Services, and Police.
Mr Wallis met with the Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald at one site where council’s had a win, on Monday.
“It has been an issue and council has said it has cost them $300,000 a year in the past. But with these grants they have been able to make inroads,” Mr MacDonald said.
“It’s one of those things I really hate to see driving around the area when they could take a lot of it to a waste recycling centre.”
The grants are distributed from the Waste Levy council’s collect on behalf of the state government at waste facilities. For every tonne disposed in landfill the state government receives $78.20.
Mr MacDonald said the cost to dispose waste responsibly might discourage some people but he deemed it necessary all the same.
“That’s always the argument - that levies are a disincentive,” he said.
“But there is a cost of handling waste and it’s not unfair to ask them to pay something to dispose of it properly.
“It’s a question for the people who do this; do you want to live somewhere nice or would you rather live in a dump?”
Dob in a Dumper
The EPA has recently released a centralised database RIDonline (Reporting Illegal Dumping online) designed to support public land managers to compile and analyse illegal dumping data across the state. The database will help identify trends in order to develop strategies to prevent illegal dumping.
NSW has the nation’s toughest penalties for illegal dumping offences, with fines of up to $1 million for individuals and $5 million for corporations.
More information about Waste Less Recycle More grants is available at http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/wastegrants/combat-illegal-dump.htm