Sunbury councillor Jack Medcraft has appeared on TV news show A Current Affair highlighting the issue of fly tipping that he says has left one housing estate looking like a dump.
“It’s out of control,” said Cllr Medcraft speaking on the Channel 9 program in Craigieburn. “Welcome to the dump.”
Viewers of the item heard how locals dodge food scraps on the streets of a new housing development. One says they are moving out because of the mess.
Standing in front of a pile of rubbish Cllr Medcraft said: “What you’ve got behind me here is a cesspit. It is costing millions of dollars of ratepayers’ money.”
The programme says $4.7m has been spent by Hume City Council clearing up dumped waste.
Cllr Medcraft wants to start a campaign called ‘Dob in a Dumper’ and have the faces of fly tippers posted on Facebook.
“Show them up for what they are,” he said.
Channel 9, one of the lucky ones to get a statement from Hume City Council, said city bosses have started a program to address illegal dumping.
Cllr Medcraft said: “Council give out two free tip passes [to households] and has two hard waste collections a year, you can’t be that stupid and not understand that.”
The TV report follows a motion put forward by Cllr Sam Misho at a council meeting on Monday 26 February to post a waste information fridge magnet to all households across the city, with a focus on multicultural communication. Council officers are to report back with costings for the proposed scheme.
