Dumping surge leaves ratepayers footing the bill

COUNCIL crews are spending almost half their workday cleaning up illegally dumped rubbish, as a surge in dumping incidents across Greater Geelong leaves ratepayers footing a growing bill.

City of Greater Geelong maintenance staff Maycee and Josh say the problem has spiralled out of control, with dumping recurring at the same sites within days.

“We clean it up and then there’s more there tomorrow – it’s out of hand,” Josh said.

“Sometimes it might be furniture and mattresses, but then other times it can be really nasty like needles, dirty nappies. There’s even been bottles of urine. It’s been really disgusting.

“They’ve gone out of their way to dump their rubbish and we’re cleaning it up. When it’s really dirty, like needles, it feels kind of like an attack.”

Last month, the duo cleaned up hazardous materials dumped in the middle of the road, just three houses up from a school.

Cleaning up illegally dumped items, Josh said, now consumes half the workday and takes crews away from their usual community maintenance tasks.

“We could have been fixing signs and making a lot of things safer,” Josh said.

Council data confirms the scale of the issue is accelerating.

In 2024-25, the city received 6,620 requests to remove dumped rubbish. Already this financial year, more than 3,000 requests have been lodged, continuing a year-on-year rise since 2021.

 

The city said these clean-up efforts are costing ratepayers hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

Geelong mayor Stretch Kontelj said illegal dumping was placing an unfair burden on the community.

“Infuriating is an understatement – illegal dumping is a despicable act.

“These people are spoiling the environment for everyone, and it costs an absolute fortune to go and pick up after them.

“By working together, we send a clear message that dumping will not be tolerated.”

Recent incidents include a large quantity of illegally dumped commercial waste along Beach Road in Avalon that blocked private access to a local farm. Investigations into the incident are ongoing.

You Yangs Ward councillor Chris Burson urged Geelong residents to report dumped rubbish to the city.

Every report, he said, makes a difference.

“If you see rubbish dumping, take a photo, record a licence plate and please let us know.

“Illegal waste dumping is unsightly, dangerous, and a waste of council resources and ratepayer money.

“We need the community’s help to hold these illegal dumpers accountable and keep our city safe and clean.”

Maycee said many dumping incidents could be avoided if residents made use of the city’s free hard rubbish services.

“I’m not sure if people realise, but you get two free hard waste bookings and two free mattress collections every year” Maycee said.

“All you have to do is go online, fill in your details, and they will come and pick it up for free.”

Dumped rubbish can be reported to the City of Greater Geelong via phone, online or email, while hard waste and mattress collections can be booked through its website.