City of Swan cracking down on illegal dumping

CITY of Swan is cracking down on the illegal dumping of waste in Ellenbrook bushland after an increase in reports over the past year.

The City is hoping its campaign Reduce Illegal Dumping (RID) will encourage people to report those who are illegally dumping waste through a new online reporting system or over the phone.

Swan community safety advocate Carol James said illegal dumping not only cost the City and ratepayers money, but it was also detrimental to the environment.

“Waste can breed pests and is bad for fauna, the environment and our waterways,” she said.

“If we can get people to call in with footage, photos, registration numbers then we can catch these people and fine them or prosecute them.”

Ellenbrook ward councillor David McDonnell said the illegal dumping of waste was costing the City about $1 million a year.

“This cost is then filtered down to ratepayers and renters,” he said.

“The City of Swan needs everyone’s help to catch these people. We need residents to be our eyes and ears.”

Summer is the worst period for illegal dumping, with Ellenbrook, Lord Street and the Urban Growth Corridor named as the worst spots for dumping in the City.

In the 2015-16 financial year it cost the city $962,709 to clean up 510 tonnes of illegally dumped waste.

Swan Mayor Mick Mainwright said since the RID project began last August there had been a steady increase in reporting.

“Between July 1 and December 31, the community safety advocate team received 939 work requests regarding illegal dumping related matters, compared with 829 work requests (in the same period) the year before. That is a 13.4 per cent increase,” he said.

“The largest spike in reports occurred in October (174) and November (187), just months after the project was launched.

“As a result, a number of enforcement notices have been issued and two cases are pending further review and could progress to prosecution through the court.”

To report illegal dumping visit www.swan.wa.gov.au.