A targeted campaign to combat illegal dumping in Logan will continue this year thanks to a funding grant from the State Government.
Levels of illegal dumping and littering have increased across the community following the introduction of a waste levy across Queensland in 2019
In response, an illegal dumping task force, was established by Logan City Council as a pilot program in April 2020, funded by a one-off Queensland Government grant.
Last year’s the Council’s budget allocated $190,000 as support to continue the taskforce over the next 12 months. This included funding to expand surveillance and enforcement activities against litterers.
A recent community survey to a group of residents to test public sentiment towards illegal dumping in Logan, revealed that 94% of residents felt that illegal dumping damages the image and pride of the city.
As part of the Task Force’s changing strategy, a draft Illegal Dumping and Litter Enforcement Strategy 2022-2025 has been prepared.
This will be a roadmap for tackling illegal dumping through a range of education and enforcement measures designed to change community behavior.
Logan City Council was formally notified this week that it had been granted $174,804 towards employing two officers to join the existing taskforce.
These officers will work as field investigators undertaking continued surveillance and enforcement activities.
Since it was formed, the Illegal Dumping Taskforce has issued significant penalties in response to dumping offences.
The Taskforce performs its duties by using sophisticated covert surveillance measures to identify offenders at dumping hotspots. Penalties and clean-up orders were issued.
The tough enforcement action prompted several of the identified dumpers to remove their illegally dumped waste at their own cost.
Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon says the Queensland Government’s Local Government Illegal Dumping Partnerships Program provides vital funding to assist local councils to train and employ dedicated compliance officers to crack down on illegal dumping activities in their regions.
“This funding, from Round 2A of the program, will enable more than 30 illegal dumping compliance officers to continue their crucial work within the community, for up to 12 months.
“Illegal dumping costs Queensland communities millions in clean-up expenses every year, can be toxic to people and our native wildlife, and is a blight on our beautiful landscapes.
“By getting these boots on the ground, Logan City Council will be able to shift their focus away from simply cleaning up illegally dumped waste to identifying and pursuing offenders.
“Thanks to the previous round of the Partnerships Program, more than 17 million litres, or over 70,000 wheelie bins, of illegally dumped waste has been removed from the environment.
“Fines for illegally dumping waste range from $2,205 to $10,338, with the potential for much higher penalties for matters prosecuted in Court. Councils funded under the first round of Partnership Program grants issued more than 850 fines totalling $1.3 million.
“By working together, we are sending a strong message to offenders that illegal dumping will not be tolerated.”
