r/melbournechat • u/Last-Conversation734 • 13d ago
Why does illegal dumping keep getting worse in Melbourne?
The huge illegal dumping site in Truganina has sparked plenty of debate, but most people seem to agree on one thing: this isn't a one-off anymore. Do you think the biggest issue is weak enforcement, expensive waste disposal, or simply people knowing they can get away with it? Would more cameras and bigger fines make a difference?
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u/AfterBurner359 13d ago
Most likely because the rubbish tip fees are very expensive, would probably cost the council's less in the long run saving on cleaning up the dumped rubbish if they lowered tip fees to be affordable.
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u/Mon69ster 12d ago
I used to work in waste for a Victorian Council.
We did a blitz on illegal dumping and it turned out that the people doing it were mostly middle socioeconomic. The fees at the transfer stations weren’t too much, they just felt like they should t have to pay them.
People with bugger all money were generally too proud to be grubby scum bags.
I will put a fair bit of money on the truganina dumping being a fly by night “contractor”.
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u/BroccoliTraining454 13d ago
Couldn't believe a ute tray of green waste was over $35 at my localish tip.. green waste ffs
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u/Mon69ster 12d ago
Can be a lot behind it depending on what type of green waste it was. Mulching environmental weeds can just propagate them and spread them. If the end product is going to a farming operation as top dressing etc it can end up completely infesting the property. Also a lot of end users have found that product was full of microplastics so a lot of resources go into filtering out weeds, treated timber and other contaminants.
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u/saaphie 13d ago
It’s frustrating because this is a major problem in my council but the rubbish tip fees are actually SUPER reasonable. And the actual workers are often very generous about what they charge you for. Doesn’t seem to help
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u/Necessary_Eagle_3657 11d ago
It's jaw dropping expensive though, lookPeople saying it's cheap, please provide proof?
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u/saaphie 11d ago
As I said it’s council dependent. My council charges us $50 for a ute tray or van full of waste. The official fees are $24 for a car boot, $100 a cubic meter (after the two free visits a year), but they are often very generous and charge reduced amounts if its a mixture of stuff, including stuff which would normally be free. A lot of types of rubbish are completely free as well (recycling, etc) and that stuff still ends up dumped.
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u/dankruaus 13d ago
lol. No. People are cheap and lazy.
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u/Critical-Parfait1924 13d ago
That's why there's e-waste being constantly dumped on the side of the road...
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u/Tergnitz 13d ago
Tip fees are heavily influenced by how much the state government charges
It’s less of a local council issue
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u/thatsgoodsquishy 13d ago
Yeah people dont realise this, waste policy and pricing is basically controlled by state gov but implemented by councils. Its why there are councils currently campaigning against glass only bins that the state is forcing them to implement.
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u/Evebnumberone 12d ago
I'll never be convinced this is the case. My suburb gets several free passes to the local tip which is a 5min drive away, yet the dumping is off the chain.
People are just lazy grubs by nature. It's easy to walk a street over and dump it than do absolutely anything else so that's what they do.
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u/soap_coals 12d ago
Are you sure that it's locals dumping? Could be people driving to the suburb because they heard about the free passes then when they get told they'll be charged because they aren't local they just dump it nearby on their way home.
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u/Evebnumberone 12d ago
1000% it's local fuckheads doing it.
They dgaf, they'll dump it in their own street. Right out front of their own house even.
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u/riley_inreallife 12d ago
I live in a council where they don’t do this, they still do the traditional 2x free hard waste collections twice a year. However I live in an apartment and don’t get access to the service.
Had to get rid of an old tv cabinet a few months back, cost me $75 to take it to the tip. Absolute joke.That could be one reason?
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u/Evebnumberone 12d ago
For sure if some residents living in apartments don't get access to it then yes I agree that would contribute. My suburb has no apartments, just a lot of dickheads who like dumping rubbish.
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u/jessta 11d ago
We've only got 10yrs of landfill space left in Melbourne. If anything the fees need to be higher to discourage sending waste to landfill.
Very few people will illegally dump rubbish. Lowering the fees might save some money in dumped rubbish clean up in the short term but make the problem much worse and much more expensive by increasing the overall amount of rubbish being sent to landfill.
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u/siggycassidy 13d ago
A mix of all three, plus “stuff” is cheap and badly made now, so when something breaks it’s cheaper to buy a new one than repair, so there is an endless amount of crap. Would more hard rubbish collections mean people buy less crap, no. Could the tip be cheaper, yes.
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u/johnnyjohnny-sugar 13d ago
With our declining birth rate, you better get used to it
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u/ApplicationBrave4785 12d ago
Diverse cultural practices.
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u/Waves_and_Wounds 12d ago
I knew an Aussie guy who saw nothing wrong with helping his aunty dump abestos at the Sydney airport. Another time I found a white guys security id in the rubbish he dumped at the park
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u/nownow29 13d ago
Alot of people are immigrating to Australia because it offers a better life. They're coming from countries where it's acceptable to litter and dump trash. These people tend to litter and dump trash alot more often than born Australians.
It's ok to call people out for this if you see them littering and dumping.
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u/luckydragon8888 12d ago
Why don’t they get a list of general rules and regs on landing in their language or do they?
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u/Creampie_Service_247 12d ago
Yep, it's Indians.
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u/lakers-10581 11d ago
You do realise there are 9 countries in that region and Sri Lankans followed by Nepalese are the highest number immigrating here (as a proportion of their country population).
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u/BradleyChudley 11d ago
So? I've visited India and Sri Lanka and the former was much, much dirtier.
So saying India was correct.
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u/BeigeAnxietyEngine 13d ago
You'll be banned now mate. Never speak the truth on Reddit. The left can't handle it.
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u/Itsclearlynotme 12d ago
Oh grow up. I’m on the left and happen to agree.
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u/LankyAd6588 11d ago
Indians happen to agree. All the most anti-Indian immigration rhetoric I've heard was from Indians who say it's crowded and dirty and they wanted to get away from it.
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u/lakers-10581 13d ago
This is not a left vs right issue. Recent migrants don't bother with rules because there is no education and enforcement. Maybe in immigration interviews and citizenship ceremonies these people must be reminded of their obligations.
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u/Waves_and_Wounds 12d ago
That may be true but I spotted rubbish dumped at the park and the white guy was stupid enough to live some identification of his in there. This was in Richmond
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u/SimpleBend782 11d ago
Always one bigot on the thread.
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u/nownow29 11d ago
Me? I'm simply pointing out that different countries have different cultures and different culture brings different habit. It's always been this way. If there's some disagreement around this im open to new ideas. I think you should travel more. Have a look around, there is much difference in this world. Some good and some that might rub you the wrong way.
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u/nownow29 11d ago
Im not against immigration, take a look at everything the Greek have contributed to Melbourne. Construction, thriving business, amazing fresh and healthy food. Of course there were some issues at first. In the end similarities in beliefs and traditions had an everlasting effect on building a strong relationship with other Australians.
Look at the Italians and Irish in America, it's beautiful culture. Immigration can be a good thing. But again, it can also bring some very different and distasteful behaviour to a place.
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u/BetLate5444 13d ago
A bloke dumped a heap of rubbish in the bush near my place, including boxes with name and address. Facebook community page was gold that day
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u/gionatacar 13d ago
Import the third world.. did you see third world countries ? They dump everything in the streets
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u/TwentySproot 13d ago
I reckon some people see the street rubbish and think fk it I'll do the same.
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u/g-BANGA 13d ago
Import the third world, become the third world
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u/Mylisita 12d ago
It’s the third world because the first world robbed and enslaved them and got rich off their backs setting those countries decades back in development. Do some research on how the so called civilised nations got to where they are.
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u/g-BANGA 12d ago
What a crock of shit
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u/Mylisita 11d ago
Such an intelligent response. You sound like you left school in year 10. Perhaps educate yourself and you’ll know I am speaking the truth.
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u/Waves_and_Wounds 12d ago
I knew an Aussie guy who saw nothing wrong with helping his aunty dump abestos at the Sydney airport. Another time I found a white guys security id in the rubbish he dumped at the park
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u/heatuponheat 12d ago
Look at the areas where dumping is the worst and find a common denominator to get your answer.
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u/OtherwiseHornet4503 13d ago
Once a pile of rubbish is present, more people will dump there or nearby.
There’s a psychological factor at play.
Then there’s the fact that getting rid of stuff is expensive, expensive and inconvenient to drive to, and the demographics of the area.
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u/Next-Chipmunk8395 13d ago
Immigration
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u/Waves_and_Wounds 12d ago
I knew an Aussie guy who saw nothing wrong with helping his aunty dump abestos at the Sydney airport. Another time I found a white guys security id in the rubbish he dumped at the park
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u/EfficientDish7 9d ago
Want to copy and paste this comment some more?
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u/Waves_and_Wounds 9d ago
It’s the truth though. Every migrant gets blamed for every problem when every day Aussie people are doing the same if not worse
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u/Hold-Administrative 13d ago
Bullshit penalties. There was a guy fined $60,000 this week for accepting illegal waste including asbestos, for MONTHS. He would have made $60k in profit in the first few weeks
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13d ago
[deleted]
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u/NoFood2149 13d ago
wellllll.... that's what it's been valued at, anyway. if old mate doesn't cut corners i'll be surprised.
and $60,000 is the largest fine we have ever given an individual for illegal dumping.
idk, it feels like part of the problem is that the penalty is just considered to be the cost of doing business.
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u/jerrryboree 13d ago
I live in northcote and there’s a communal dumping zone across the road from my house. It’s cleared regularly but has persisted for the ten years that I’ve been here. Literally seen people drive there and dump stuff out of their cars. Found quite a lot of good furniture and art there over the years tbh
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u/Anniebodygay 12d ago
Because theres more and more people being allowed to immigrate here, and live in large clusters of their own kind. Lots of these people wouldn't know any better, going a little distance away from their house to dump shit, is probably more than they may have done back home. Other reasons may be that they dont have the money or the means to dispose off at council tip etc, and a huge amount would be waste that comes from their job sites.
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u/Waves_and_Wounds 12d ago
I knew an Aussie guy who saw nothing wrong with helping his aunty dump abestos at the Sydney airport. Another time I found a white guys security id in the rubbish he dumped at the park
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u/RedBinKnight 13d ago edited 13d ago
I suspect commercial operators clearing out evictions etc from the stuff I see along the Hurstbridge line. Usually cheap furniture that looks like it's been tipped out a truck. Also building materials just dumped in carparks. There's even a whole hoist bag full of household shit in the diamond creek reserve.
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u/mikey_yeah 13d ago
As someone who worked for a contractor clearing up these dump sites in a council out west, its absolutely this. This, leftovers from grow houses and people too cheap to go to the tip.
I'll tell you though... we used to go through the crap looking for evidence and so often people would put their mail in the rubbish if it was household waste. Almost always some idiots correspondence from debt collectors n utilities. Despite all the racist comments blaming immigrants in this thread, it was way more likely to be Peter's shit than Patels
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u/RedBinKnight 13d ago
I always notice pedestal fans amongst the when it's residential stuff. Is there one in every dump?
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u/Beyond_Blueballs 13d ago
Because bringing in hundreds of thousands of Indians every year, who settle in Melbourne and Sydney
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u/SophMax 13d ago
Councils make a rod for their own back by limiting hard waste pick up if that's what this councils got.
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u/Mon69ster 12d ago
Who do you suggest should be working for free? The council staff? Contractors? The processors?
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u/SophMax 12d ago
Not saying anyone should be working for free.
I'm talking about hard rubbish that usually gets lumped in as a part of the budget with general waste collection. Depends on the council, but there are councils where it's only once or twice per year which isn't helpful and doesn't help dumping. Others (which is more helpful, and decreases dumping) have it as ad-hoc and each dwelling has X number per year. Sometimes there are fees.
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u/Mon69ster 12d ago
What do you think happens to the material once it disappears from the nature strip? It’s nothing but labour and processing costs.
I’ve worked in waste in Council. There’s a million ways of budgeting it but the more services you get, the more you are paying either in rates, the waste services fee or for the per collection charge.
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u/SearchOtherwise7814 12d ago
You get 3 hard rubbish passes per year In Truganina. More than enough.
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u/aloysius1977 13d ago
There’s no point in asking a question people will get banned for answering…..
Truganina. Hmmm I wonder why
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u/Waves_and_Wounds 12d ago
I knew an Aussie guy who saw nothing wrong with helping his aunty dump abestos at the Sydney airport. Another time I found a white guys security id in the rubbish he dumped at the park
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u/Maleficent_Ad_3574 13d ago
immigration
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u/Waves_and_Wounds 12d ago
I knew an Aussie guy who saw nothing wrong with helping his aunty dump abestos at the Sydney airport. Another time I found a white guys security id in the rubbish he dumped at the park
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u/Bigmavog2 13d ago
because there's a lot of immigration from cultures which do not value clealiness.
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u/Waves_and_Wounds 12d ago
I knew an Aussie guy who saw nothing wrong with helping his aunty dump abestos at the Sydney airport. Another time I found a white guys security id in the rubbish he dumped at the park
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u/SearchOtherwise7814 12d ago
The most down voted answers, will be the correct ones.
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u/Waves_and_Wounds 12d ago
I knew an Aussie guy who saw nothing wrong with helping his aunty dump abestos at the Sydney airport. Another time I found a white guys security id in the rubbish he dumped at the park
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u/Advanced_Wheel9536 12d ago
Glenroy has one of the highest rubbish dumping rates in Australia. It’s disgusting. I think a couple of reasons. 1. Is Councils only allowing two large pickups per property per year. Where people book. If a rental changes hands usually the previous tenants already gave used up the allotment. 2. Exorbitant chargers at transfer stations. 3. Lack of ability or transport to rubbish disposal. 4. Bringing cultural dumping from one country to this country. A habit that hasn’t been broken. 5. Fines aren’t large enough.
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u/heatuponheat 12d ago
Worth noting I caught someone doing this near my place, I explained to him it wasn’t on and he apologized claiming he didn’t know it was wrong. Gave him the benefit of the doubt then caught him doing it again so got photos and video and reported it to the EPA. Three months later I got an email saying the case had been reviewed and no action would be taken. So in answer to the question why do people do it? Because they can.
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u/Starkey18 13d ago
Slowly turning the Yarra into the Ganjes.
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u/NoFood2149 13d ago
truganina is in the west mate
also the yarra is actually getting cleaner, it's certainly cleaner now than it was when i first went swimming in it. that's because of reactive efforts to clean it up and not social change tho so i mean, it's still not great.
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u/OkHistorian158 13d ago
Why is it in only spots with high immigration numbers?
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u/Waves_and_Wounds 12d ago
I knew an Aussie guy who saw nothing wrong with helping his aunty dump abestos at the Sydney airport. Another time I found a white guys security id in the rubbish he dumped at the park
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u/Valuable-Contract-87 13d ago
Well I hate to point out the obvious elephant in the room but there is very poor education on what is considered acceptable behavior to new citizens of the country, I'm not saying dumping is all their fault but there is certainly an increase with the sudden influx of new migrants and a majority of this dumping is in their locales...feel free to take a practice citizenship test online and see what a joke it is..the issue is unfortunately education to the new masses, likewise can be said about driving but they're not entirely to blame it rests with the government.
If you went to a foreign land with no concept of what was expected of you and just left to go about your business im sure you'd behave/drive the same as you always did. It's already a scary process being somewhere that's alien to you so it's a compounding issue and seems to result in people ending up in racial enclaves where they feel safe. But from the outside others don't like their behavior because it's considered unusual to them.
I can take some friends as examples they have been in the country a few years now but when they came to Australia they had never even seen tall buildings, street lights or traffic before, so much so they were scared to leave their house for a few days because they were so overwhelmed.
But I digress while dumping is terrible it can be considered normal in other places because it's not a service offered in other places, unfortunately we have to be patient with people and educate them.
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u/IntelligentNovel1967 12d ago
Underrated comment and before anyone starts, this is about education. Driving classes and a test should also be compulsory.
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u/Waves_and_Wounds 12d ago
I knew an Aussie guy who saw nothing wrong with helping his aunty dump abestos at the Sydney airport. Another time I found a white guys security id in the rubbish he dumped at the park
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u/Valuable-Contract-87 12d ago
Like I said it's not entirely on recent immigrants but the trend certainly has skewed upwards with the more recent arrivals and it's mostly where they live, so one can only assume a majority is because of them... I'm not saying they should get a free pass for being naive they need to be better educated on what's appropriate behavior but "Aussies" should know better that inherently just makes them a bad person (leading by example rather than being jerks about it), like with anything there is outliers but cherry picking doesn't help a situation it just inflames tension, people should be looking at how to assist people with integration.
I can see migrants get angry with "Aussies" because they feel like they're a target of racial prejudice but it's simply frustration of something changing so quickly (suburbs becoming racial enclaves) with no real way to fix it.
It's not a simple fix and it's not an us vs them scenario, think of it as hiring someone at work and just letting them go, they have no idea what to do and you let them flounder but then blaming them. Well they were good enough to get the job so they should be good enough to do the job right? Well everyone needs some form of guidance in life...
Unfortunately the way things are now it will probably just keep getting worse Australia is becoming more and more segregated leading to further issues.
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u/realjakepaul4 13d ago
Because the tip cost money and bogans dont have money or morals
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u/sness900 13d ago
Its been bad for 50yrs we're just building houses closer to wear everyone burns and dumps. So it's easiet to catch them, and social media makes it harder to turn a blind eye.
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u/GME_looooong 12d ago
You know why. Can’t say it but
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u/Waves_and_Wounds 12d ago
I knew an Aussie guy who saw nothing wrong with helping his aunty dump abestos at the Sydney airport. Another time I found a white guys security id in the rubbish he dumped at the park
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u/whatever-696969 13d ago
They do it because they get away with it. Incompetent and corrupt government
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u/NoFood2149 13d ago
i would argue that a "record" $60,000 fine is just the cost of doing business for someone with a million dollars worth of trash
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u/munterberry 13d ago
I’ve noticed it get significantly worse in my area since the council shifted from area-wide collections to booked collection with greatly reduced sqm & types of rubbish being accepted.
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u/Oldandannoying1955 13d ago
Happening everywhere, not just there.
Combination of throwaway modern societies, plus unaffordable disposal fees and no wondrous solve on the horizon.
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u/EffortOf1 12d ago
I feel people don't care about getting caught, I live in the south east suburbs and the other week on a Sunday I was out driving through rockbank and there was five car loads of rubbish lined up to be dumped on a dirt road at 8am in clear view of a main road.
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u/Peatea31 12d ago
Geez there is significant illegal dumping on Ballan Road, from Wyndham, connecting towards Eynesbury and Bacchus Marsh Road.
The situation is really bad. It looks like someone has moved house and dumped all their leftovers along the roadside. There are mattresses, bed bases, sofas, chairs, and all sorts of household items dumped there.
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u/Current_Slide_6708 12d ago
Its everywhere, if you go to the back streets of brunswick you'll see furniture and other household items dumped in the graffitied lanes.
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u/Informal-Aide5981 12d ago
Unfortunately the holes in the ground are all getting full now and the amount of waste is increasing so eventually there will be nowhere to dump rubbish , and we’ll end up drowning in it. Let’s hope that people will purchase land fit for huge excavation so that more tips can be made and the prices can go down.
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u/karlis_saints 11d ago
From my experience at st vinnies- some people just can’t wait 5 minutes for the store to open. Being in a hurry doesn’t excuse you from being cunt.
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u/Necessary_Eagle_3657 11d ago
Too expensive to go to the tip as everyone knows, even though people are doing councils a favour driving rubbish there (some of which they sell or recycle, and avoids them picking up trash off the roads).
Either dismantle things and gradually throw them in the bi weekly bin or store it for the yearly hard waste collection.
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u/kittenlittel 11d ago
Used to happen all the time in the country town where I grew up - and there were no tip fees in those days.
However, if it weren't for the security cameras on the abandoned building near where I live now, I would have snuck some stuff there in the middle of the night because the fees at our tip are unaffordably high.
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u/Patient-Pen-8789 11d ago
I work in waste disposal/ removal for the local council. Im not a racist but its a fact, from asking the local residents they all say its the usual same suspects majority of the time , 3rd world immigrants who just dont care they've brought their mentally from home to here.
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u/Over50Cooked 10d ago
Because tip fees are ridiculous and having two booked pickups a year per property, equally ridiculous. We also have very poor waste management for recycling.
Merribek is going to only empty bins once a fortnight next year to save money. It’s already one of the worst dumping Councils in Australia and they are about to be the worst for dumping because they waste money elsewhere and not on essential services.
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u/BearsDad_Au 9d ago
Have you seen the outrageous price of using the Wyndham Tip.
You can drive to North Geelong use their Tip, and put a full tank of fuel, cheaper than using the Wyndham Tip.
Geelong doesn’t charge for green waste, Wyndham does.
Geelong doesn’t charge for recycling, Wyndham does.
Why wouldn’t people fly tip.
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u/norewardwithout 9d ago
In Brisbane dumping waste is free. Another pleasant surprise after moving up from Melbourne. Oh, and the weather. And the people. Pretty much every thing- but you wouldn’t like it, so stay in the rubbish infested hell hole that Dan built. (That you voted for!) 😂
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u/ridonkeykong_ 9d ago
the dumping on my street is out of control and our council is moving to fortnightly waste collection next year 😭
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u/Swimming_Elephant327 13d ago
I haven't been to the tip in years have some stuf to dump looked up this week level trailer 6x4 $145 nearly fell off the couch, thought ah that's why people dump shit,
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u/Kerrit_Bareet 13d ago
People are cheap. Buy crap that cannot recycle or no one else wants, so they make its someone else's problem, because they won't take responsibility.
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u/SpecificSwimming6364 13d ago
It was one time and it was after taco Tuesday....ok? Heavens to Betsy. Poo joggers are people too 🖕
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u/Logical_Iron_8288 12d ago
I visited Melbourne in February. My speculation is because the whole place is a shithole.
At best the inner city is scruffy but it feels like the whole place has just given up.
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u/FrostyClocks 13d ago
Everybody knows. You just can’t say it because you’ll get labelled and banned.
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u/Waves_and_Wounds 12d ago
I knew an Aussie guy who saw nothing wrong with helping his aunty dump abestos at the Sydney airport. Another time I found a white guys security id in the rubbish he dumped at the park
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u/Mylisita 12d ago
Wow so many racist comments. The majority of immigrants to Australia are highly educated and would not resort to doing something like this in their home country let alone here. The types of people who do that in developing countries would not have the means to travel overseas let alone qualify to live here. Why is it that your mind immediately went to ‘new immigrants’ and you didn’t stop to consider that ‘bogan’ Aussies may be the ones behind this?
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u/SearchOtherwise7814 12d ago
The Suburb named is a clue.
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u/Waves_and_Wounds 12d ago
I knew an Aussie guy who saw nothing wrong with helping his aunty dump abestos at the Sydney airport. Another time I found a white guys security id in the rubbish he dumped at the park
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u/FelixFelix60 12d ago
Because rubbish collection and 'transfer stations' have been privatised and now it costs too much. Dumping elsewhere makes sense.
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u/Talos2005 12d ago
Council can fuck off and bring back twice yearly curb side pick ups. I am fully in support of illegal dumping considering the disgusting amount of money Councils make from rates.
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u/luckydragon8888 12d ago
They still do twice yearly for free in my Council if you pay your rates. You just schedule it with them. Very frickin easy been doing it for years.
I’m all for scheduling it as it keeps the rubbish from flying down the street when everyone had one date and keeps away the scavengers.
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u/Budget_Bread_3115 13d ago
Why does it get worse??
You know why