Locals in Melbourne’s multicultural outer suburbs say they have become “dumping fields” and are calling on the government to educate immigrants on keeping Australia clean.
A viral video posted by Kane Andrewartha from Tip Top Rubbish Removals on social media this week shows a long stretch of road in Wollert, in the city’s north, covered in illegally dumped waste.
In the clip Mr Andrewartha can be heard saying “look at this, this is insane, it’s literally been turned into a tip. I thought the west was bad, but this is probably as bad as I’ve seen” as he drives down Equestria Boulevard in disgust.
Mr Andrewartha, who has been running his rubbish removal business for 15 years, told news.com.au the illegal dumping problem on Melbourne’s outskirts had worsened significantly in the last five years.
“I do a lot of work in the green growth corridors, new suburbs being built, it’s atrocious – they’re literally just dumping fields. I do a lot of work around Melton, Wyndham, Tarneit, Truganina … any of those back roads, they are insane,” he said.
But he also blamed the government for doubling the cost of rubbish disposal, and said “we need to educate people that are coming and calling Australia home”.
“This country was built on immigration, people are welcome, but there needs to be some sort of education campaign,” he said.
“I remember in primary school you’d go and pick up litter. It was ingrained in us as Australians, it was a real big part of our culture.”
Mr Andrewartha said he recently had an altercation with a foreign illegal dumper who he saw dumping a load of dirt in a paddock.
“Obviously I knew it wasn’t his paddock. He saw me filming him and did a U-turn. The guy couldn’t speak English. He handed the phone to his boss, [who] lied through his teeth, told me he’s got permission to dump there,” he said.
“He’s come down in another truck 30 minutes later and tried to threaten me.”
Data released earlier this year showed that half of all of Australia’s illegal dumping reports were from Victoria, with the city’s multicultural outer suburbs the worst affected.
The footage comes after recent videos also highlighted illegal dumping in Tarneit and Clayton South in Melbourne, and in Austral in Sydney.
Header image: Left, right, the rubbish piled up in Wollert (Tip Top Rubbish Removals – Facebook).
