Anti-dumping campaign earns state excellence award

A smart way to combat a dumb problem has earned Wagga Wagga City Council a gong at the Local Government NSW Excellence in the Environment awards.

Council’s “Don’t Dump, It’s Dumb” illegal dumping prevention campaign claimed the Behaviour Change in Waste Management Award in Sydney on 11 October.

The campaign’s aim was to educate the community about the issue of illegal dumping to help reduce incidents of dumped rubbish and to also encourage residents to report incidents so they could be investigated.

“As well as having an impact on the environment and community safety, it also costs ratepayers tens of thousands of dollars to clean up illegal dumping each year,” Waste Education & Communications Officer Alice Kent said.

“The ‘Don’t Dump, It’s Dumb’ campaign featured an extensive TV, radio, newspaper and social media campaign.

“Free mattress disposal days were also held at the Gregadoo Waste Management Centre and at each of the Rural Transfer Stations, with 382 mattresses disposed of.

“As part of the campaign we also installed infrastructure to prevent illegal dumping in known dumping hot spots, such as bollards, signage and surveillance.”

“Going forward, Council is committed to working with the community to reduce illegal dumping and we are currently planning future projects to address other illegal dumping hot spot areas.”

The Local Government NSW Excellence in the Environment win was the latest in a string of recent awards for Council, which this year has been recognised for everything from its sewer management to strategic planning.

The ‘Don’t Dump, it’s Dumb’ campaign was made possible through a $123,000 grant from the NSW Environment Protection Authority Waste Less, Recycle More initiative, funded from the waste levy.

Residents can report incidents of illegal dumping by phoning 131 555 or at ridonline.epa.nsw.gov.au. More information is also available at www.wagga.nsw.gov.au/rid.