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.<\/p>\n
The 24-hour site is managed by the Surf Coast Shire and is regularly cleared by Cleanaway.<\/p>\n
Despite signs clearly stating \u201cdrop off point for holiday home owners and non-permanent residents only\u201d, \u201cno hard rubbish\u201d, \u201cno waste from businesses\u201d and \u201cdo not dump rubbish on the ground\u201d, this is openly ignored by some users.<\/p>\n
The shire\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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\u2019t make alternative arrangements.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately some people use the facility as a free dumping location for larger amounts of waste and recycling.<\/p>\n
\u201cCouncil has CCTV cameras installed at the site and has prosecuted for illegal dumping at the site.<\/p>\n
\u201cOfficers will examine footage from the recent Christmas period to identify individuals who might have dumped waste illegally. Council will continue to monitor the site.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the cost of the most recent clean-up \u201chas not been determined\u201d.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cbut there was one bin full of nappies, which was disgusting\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the bins there were actually empty, which was annoying.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a drop-off point, so if people aren\u2019t dumping their rubbish on roadsides, they are getting the message.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are working to make it better and clean it faster.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 \u201cdrop off point […]<\/p>\n