By Jamie Salter
Reports of alleged illegal tyre dumping at an Officer South housing estate are being made by a local real estate developer.
A white Isuzu N series truck is suspected of dumping tyres on Sunday 31 July at about 5.53am – caught on nearby security footage.
A developer spokesperson said the incident was “frustrating, annoying and time consuming”.
“I’m sure ratepayers and the whole community are getting frustrated with ongoing dumping,” the spokesperson said.
“We’re lucky there’s CCTV footage, but it’s not clear enough on this occasion to identify the licence plate.
“We’re hoping somebody might know the truck and they can notify any details to Cardinia Shire Council, as it’s been dumped on their land illegally.”
The developer spokesperson said they suspected the culprit to be local to the area.
Soil was also previously dumped at the Officer South site in early June.
“No doubt the wider community is feeling the pinch of increasing living costs, and that’s probably resulting in an increase in people illegally dumping,” the spokesperson said.
“We are lucky that generally the community within the estate looks out for one another and are vigilant, reporting the incidents as quickly as they can.
“I’m sure council is incredibly frustrated as well and hopefully we can all combine our efforts to reduce dumping in the community.”
A Cardinia Shire spokesperson said a waste inspections officer visited the site of the dumping to conduct an inspection within a few hours of the incident being reported to council.
“When on site, our officer reported that there were 64 dumped tyres,” the spokesperson said.
“The dumped tyres have been booked for removal by our contractor which may take up to a few days, but in the meantime they have been marked with council’s ‘dumped rubbish tape’ so that the public is aware that the investigation is ongoing.
“If anyone has any further information regarding dumping at this particular location, please contact council.”
Victorian councils spent $89 million responding to dumped waste between 2019 and 2020.
“Many Victorian councils have reported an increase in tyre dumping across the state, and we’re working towards effective solutions which aim to educate and deter people from dumping waste,” the council spokesperson said.
“Council has installed new signage at dumping hot-spots to raise awareness of illegal dumping, and we monitor these sites closely.
“If residents witness any illegal dumping of waste, we ask that they contact council with any information or photos as soon as possible so we can respond promptly and investigate the matter further.”
The council encouraged residents to make use of the two free hard waste removals per year.
