Disgust at river dumping

By Tania Martin
LA TROBE MP Jason Wood has labelled the dumping of several hundred newspapers and rubbish in the Dandenong Ranges National Park as ‘disgusting’.
Mr Wood said the dumping on the edge of the National Park, off Churchill Drive in Tremont, was a ‘low act’.
“It is just crazy to think that someone would do something like this.
“They are filthy pigs for doing something like this when our Friends groups and local volunteers are working hard to improve the local environment,” he said.
A former police officer, Mr Wood did a bit of his own investigation work last week before reporting the incident to his former colleagues at Belgrave.
Mr Wood scoured the area looking for clues on who might have dumped the rubbish.
Along with several hundred newspapers, a couple of bags of rubbish and empty fertilising containers were found in the area.
Mr Woods said he felt the rubbish and the newspapers were dumped by the same person because the rubbish was dumped close to the newspapers.
Senior Constable Scott Cross of Belgrave police said the newspapers’ distribution company had been notified.
However, he said the company had not been able to pinpoint the person responsible which means it will be difficult to charge someone with the offence.
Sen Const Cross said if anyone saw or heard something regarding the incident, they should contact Belgrave police on 9754 6677.
Mr Wood said the incident delivered a direct blow to the volunteers in the local community who work so hard to keep the parks clean.
He said he has also been working closely with Keep Australia Beautiful to have the area included in the Tidy Towns Awards and that this incident was undermining their work.
Don Chambers from Keep Australia Beautiful said any dumping of rubbish was detrimental to the environment.
Mr Chambers said a recent survey revealed that 48 per cent of all rubbish dumped came from road sides and car parks.
“It’s poor behaviour dumping rubbish in the environment and we need to work hard to really start making people aware of their behaviour,” he said.
Mr Chambers has questioned ‘why the bloody hell’ someone would dump rubbish in a national park.
“Don’t waste our national parks. People need to dispose of rubbish responsibly at home or in marked rubbish or recycling bins,” he said.
Parks Victoria ranger Matt Hoogland said the dumping of rubbish including garden waste can have a serious impact on the natural values of the Dandenong Ranges National Park.
Mr Hoogland said littering is an offence and can attract heavy fines.
“We encourage the community to be diligent and report any incident relating to rubbish dumping in the national park by calling Parks Victoria on 13 19 63, the local police or the Shire of Yarra Ranges,” he said.
Mr Hoogland said important details to note are the time, place, date and a description of the car and offender if possible.
“It is a costly and time-consuming exercise to remove dumped rubbish and we can only fully protect our parks in partnership with the community and we rely on their support to ensure our precious natural environment is protected for future generations to enjoy,” he said.