Christmas rubbish turns drop-off point into a mess

A WASTE drop-off point in Messmate Road in Torquay has again been turned into a mess, with a surge following Christmas leading to large piles of rubbish being stacked up outside bins.

The 24-hour site is managed by the Surf Coast Shire and is regularly cleared by Cleanaway.

Despite signs clearly stating “drop off point for holiday home owners and non-permanent residents only”, “no hard rubbish”, “no waste from businesses” and “do not dump rubbish on the ground”, this is openly ignored by some users.

The shire’s acting general manager of governance and infrastructure Neil McQuinn said the council became aware of a high accumulation of rubbish at the drop-off point after the Christmas period, but contractors had cleared the site by 1pm on December 27.

“The drop-off point is intended for part-time residents who need to deposit small quantities of garbage and recycling if they are not at their property for their scheduled collection and can’t make alternative arrangements.

“Unfortunately some people use the facility as a free dumping location for larger amounts of waste and recycling.

“Council has CCTV cameras installed at the site and has prosecuted for illegal dumping at the site.

“Officers will examine footage from the recent Christmas period to identify individuals who might have dumped waste illegally. Council will continue to monitor the site.”

He said the cost of the most recent clean-up “has not been determined”.

Shire mayor Rose Hodge visited the drop-off point last week before the clean-up and said most of the overflowing material was Christmas-related “but there was one bin full of nappies, which was disgusting”.

“Some of the bins there were actually empty, which was annoying.

“It is a drop-off point, so if people aren’t dumping their rubbish on roadsides, they are getting the message.

“We are working to make it better and clean it faster.”