Dumping slammed

By Tania Martin
SHIRE of Yarra Ranges councillor Graham Warren has labelled the dumping of a massive pile of rubbish near Monbulk as an ‘absolute disgrace’.
The council is now investigating the pile of household rubbish on Emerald-Monbulk Road, which was discovered by The Mail on Thursday.
Cr Warren said that the dumping of rubbish, especially in the hills, was a huge problem for the council.
“It (rubbish) is a real blight on the council and you can see it on any major road across the shire,” he said.
“It’s disgusting. You can see litter everywhere you look on the side of the road from food wrappers to cigarette butts and household rubbish – it’s such a blight on the council.”
Cr Warren said that the dumping of rubbish was not only illegal but could have a huge impact on the surrounding environment.
Shire manager of community relations James Martin said local laws officers had taped off the area to prevent people from coming into contact with the rubbish.
Mr Martin said the officers would now have to trawl through the rubbish to attempt to identify where it came from.
He said if the shire were able to identify where the rubbish came from the council would have the choice of either issuing a fine of up to $4400 or taking the matter to the Magistrates’ Court. Mr Martin said if the matter went to court the offender could face up to a month in jail or a fine of up to $6600.
Cr Warren said he hopes the council can identify the owner of the rubbish so the full extent of the law could be thrown at them.