Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) welcomes the Victorian Government’s Budget announcement of $9.1 million over four years to continue the work of its Illegal Dumping Strikeforce.
EPA Chief Executive Officer Nial Finegan said the investment would enable EPA to continue tackling
illegal waste disposal through targeted investigations, compliance activities, intelligence gathering and public information campaigns.
“Illegal dumping has significant impacts on human health and the environment, and costs Victorians around $30 million a year in clean up costs and lost landfill levy revenue,” Mr Finegan said.
“The continued program will allow us to build on the knowledge and expertise gathered so far, increase our focus on prevention, and disrupt the business of illegitimate dumping through behaviour change and public information.”
The Strikeforce program has been targeting the illegal dumping of construction and demolition waste, skip bin loads and waste tyres.
“Illegal dumping creates an eyesore and can contaminate the soil and nearby waterways, and the cost of the clean up is too often left to the community or landholders,” Mr Finegan said.
“Two thirds of EPA’s prosecutions every year are for illegal waste dumping, and over the last two financial years, EPA’s Illegal Dumping Strikeforce has inspected hundreds of sites for illegal dumping and issued more than 170 clean up notices.”
EPA’s clean up notices are legally enforceable orders to remove dumped waste for proper disposal, and EPA fines start in the thousands of dollars and can go as high as hundreds of thousands if the case goes to court.
You can read more about the 2018-19 State Budget at www.budget.vic.gov.au
“When you see waste dumped in the bush or abandoned on private land, report it to EPA by calling 1300 EPA VIC (1300 372 842) or visiting the website www.epa.vic.gov.au,” Mr Finegan said.