Rubbish Ranger named local legend

TORQUAY Rubbish Ranger Dean Walton’s tireless dedication to cleaning up the coast has earnt him this year’s Local Legend title from the Surf Coast Shire council.

Averaging between 20 to 25 hours a week picking up rubbish between Torquay and Anglesea, much of it on his bike with a trailer carrying a bin, Mr Walton said he is driven by a desire to give something back to the community he made home two years ago.

“When you’re a city person and you come to a coastal town you want to contribute and return something to the community and picking up rubbish was an easy thing for me,” the former Melbourne resident said.

“I said if I get to live in the town that I’ve been wanting to live in for 15 to 20 years I’m going to do everything I can to make it the cleanest town possible.”

Initially acting as a solo operator he later became a founding member of the Torquay Rubbish Rangers after connecting with the Anglesea and Aireys Inlet groups.
“We’re getting maybe 10 to 15 other people coming on a Sunday wanting to help pick up rubbish,” he said.

“It sounds strange, surely nobody else wants to pick up rubbish, but there are some people who want to do it. They do it for environmental reasons, to teach their kids, or help the community… and the town looks so much cleaner, it looks great.”

Mr Walton said he derives other dividends from his unpaid work, including health of the mind and body.

“I battle anxiety/depression, I don’t work anymore and I find picking up rubbish is one of the only things that calms me,” he said.
“It totally shuts your mind off everything else that is going on in the world or in your life and you’re just focused for that time period on that next bit of rubbish.”

The five most common items of litter he finds are tissues, wipes and serviettes; alcohol cans and bottles; cigarette butts; coffee cups and food packaging from chips and sweets.

The most frustrating items include dirty nappies, mainly in car parks; “nangs” (nitrous oxide bulbs); food left on tables and barbecues; corners off lolly and chip packets and small items such as bread ties, tags and mower shredded rubbish.

“I’m pretty obsessed with it,” he said.

“You hope that a tidy town will mean less people will want to throw rubbish out.”