Illegal dumping has created a public health hazard and community eyesore as rubbish spills onto a Marsden Street outside the Mulgrave Gardens residential complex.
A resident of Mulgrave Gardens, Riley Kernaghan said the rubbish consists of furniture, shoes, carboard boxes and rubbish bins and had been building for weeks.
“Why should I have the entry to my street looking like a tip because the body corporate manager refuses to act, and the council is too slow or too busy to respond?” Mr Kernaghan said.
“I think that Logan City needs to step up and do the most basic of things – get rubbish removed.”
Mr Kernaghan said he contacted both Logan City council and his local councillor, Jon Raven, about the rubbish, as well as his body corporate manager.
He said the rubbish was a “potential hazard for drivers” and pedestrians were “unable to walk around the rubbish due to its size”.
He called for either council or the complex’s management to fix the issue.
Cr Raven responded and told MyCity Logan he wrote to the body corporate of the estate.
“I’m disappointed to see that the body corporate is passing the buck to ratepayers to clean up a mess that they acknowledge is caused by residents of Mulgrave Gardens,” Cr Raven said.
“I’ve asked them what steps they’re taking to provide adequate bulk waste disposal for the residents in their estate rather than ignoring their long-term habit of dumping waste on the verge and expecting the ratepayers of Logan to clean up after them.
“I’ve escalated this to both the Waste team (as the Kerbside Clean Up for Marsden starts on 23 October) and to the Illegal Dumping Taskforce for investigation and potential enforcement action.”
Council have been mitigating illegal dumping in Logan for years with a dumping taskforce recently issuing more than $150,000 of fines.
A council spokesperson said the taskforce was able to “intercept illegal waste dumping, detect responsible persons and take swift enforcement action”.
“As a result, 30 per cent of the dumped waste was subsequently removed by the offender at no cost to council,” the spokesperson said.
“Where offenders are caught, significant penalties and clean-up orders are given.
“Logan City council has zero tolerance of illegal dumping which negatively impacts the local community.”
The taskforce is also accompanied by a dumping and litter enforcement strategy that will run until 2025 and aims to “create behavioural change”.
“As part of this strategy, council has created greater public awareness, delivered more educational initiatives and enacted a range of enforcements, including targeted blitz operations,” the spokesperson said.
“Council works tirelessly to intercept offenders through its extensive safety camera and covert surveillance network.”
Residents are encouraged to report any illegal dumping to council by telephoning 3412 3412 or by visiting https://www.logan.qld.gov.au/illegal-dumping.
