Residents sick of rubbish
A dumped pile of decaying fish carcasses has left residents in O'Connell St deeply frustrated, and further underlined the hazards of individuals illegally disposing of their waste.
“This is such a lovely creek,” Susan Fleetwood said.
“All the kids make use of it.”
But Ms Fleetwood said it was unsafe for children in the area to make use of the wider swimming area downstream, since the fish carcasses had contaminated the water.
Ms Fleetwood said dead fish had been dumped in the same place previously and she regularly had to deal with dumped tyres, batteries, fridges and other items that people had dumped in the area.
Charlie Sotiris, acting director of environmental regulation, said the vast majority of residents in the region disposed of their waste responsibly, but a few bad eggs were leaving him and his colleagues exasperated.
“We also struggle to understand it,” he said of the random dumping of garbage.
Mr Sotiris said that one council worker had recently taken a truck just outside town to pick up a load of old white goods that someone had dumped in the middle of nowhere.
He said residents could legally dump many items for free at council facilities.
These included timber and green waste, metal, white goods, engine oil and batteries.
He urged people to look at the council website for information on waste disposal options.
Source: http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/story/2011/04/02/fish-residents-sick-of-rubbish-gladstone/
