Shire of Collie chief executive David Blurton has urged residents to report instances of illegal dumping of rubbish to shire rangers rather than just sharing on social media.
Mr Blurton said the shire hadn’t received many reports of illegal dumping, despite several instances being shared on social media.
“We need these instances to be reported to Ranger Services and not just on social media,” he said.
“We have just finished dealing with two cases where infringements were issued and the identified offenders removed what they had dumped, however during this process other areas were found with the clean up carried out by the shire.
“Before these latest events we had not received any complaints of illegal dumping for quite some time.”
Mr Blurton said there was no excuse for anyone to dump their rubbish.
“We are lucky enough to have such beautiful and unique bushland areas which are worth protecting and it is such a shame that some people don’t respect what they have,” he said.
“The tip is open seven days a week and ratepayers get a tip pass with 16 free entries each year which is more than sufficient to dispose of household waste.
“There is no excuse for dumping any item illegally.”
Mr Blurton said the shire rangers had been working closely with the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions to respond to the problem and they regularly conducted patrols of known problem areas.
However he said that responding to the problem was costly for the shire.
“These matters usually require a significant amount of investigation so are quite demanding on staff time and resources,” he said.
“If the culprits can be identified they are infringed and ordered to remove their rubbish themselves, however when the culprits cannot be identified it becomes the responsibility of the landowner to remove the rubbish.”
Mr Blurton said it was important to report instances as soon as they are witnessed, to either the shire’s Ranger Services on 0408 931 274 or the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation’s pollution watch hotline at 1300 784 782.
He said if possible, it is beneficial to provide number plates, vehicle descriptions and photos of the dumping when making a report.
However he said residents ‘should not put themselves at risk’ or ‘remove any identifying evidence’.
