Kangaroo body parts, furniture, household goods and rubbish have been dumped near a west Goulburn reserve being regenerated.
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The discovery last Thursday has disgusted Mayor Bob Kirk who has branded the offenders “grubs.”
He found the dumped goods, also including five plastic bags full of rubbish, on Mary Street, between Carr and Ridge Streets. The items were left on the road reserve beside the West Goulburn Bushland area, loosely bordered by Mary, Slocombe, Loder and Ridge Streets, which Cr Kirk and volunteers have assiduously cleaned up over the past four years.
“I was so disappointed to drive down there and see that,” Cr Kirk said.
“We have spent four years toiling away, removing waste, fencing and tidying the place up. The council is also putting walking tracks in there with the goal of creating a place for Goulburn residents to enjoy.
“Then to see that some grub has cut up a kangaroo (a neck and leg was found) and dumped rubbish there is very disheartening.”
The Mayor said while the incidence of littering in the reserve had dropped since regeneration started, there were worrying instances elsewhere in the city.
Recently council staff found four washing machines, a fridge, couch and two hot water systems dumped in Belmore Park. Bins were also filled to capacity with carpet off-cuts. All were taken to the tip. The council is reviewing CCTV footage to find the perpetrators. Cr Kirk said they’d be prosecuted if identified.
“What a poor reflection on the people responsible all of this is,” he said.
“Ninety-nine per cent of people show respect for the community but some think it’s perfectly okay to throw it in someone else’s backyard.”
The Mayor told The Post he did not buy the sometimes used excuse that Goulburn’s tip fees were too high.
A ute or trailer load up to 350mm high cost $22 entry, and up to 450mm – $30. Palerang Shire Council charged $24 for a small ute load and $30 for a small trailer load; Yass – $18 for a small ute or trailer load and $34 for one up to 450mm high; and Upper Lachlan Shire $15 for a small ute or trailer load and $30 for a large one.
“These days we live in a throwaway, disposable society,” he said.
Cr Kirk said the tip fees were comparable and people had to appreciate there was a price to deal with waste. But he argued it was based on cost recovery and the council did not make a profit.
“(My message is) don’t blame the council because we are making decisions on behalf of the community. It is absurd to think that these things can be done at no expense,” he said.
He named Rocky Hill, Mount Gray, near the Grand Prix memorial on Mountain Ash Road and Highland Way, on the road to Tallong, as problem dumping areas.
Recently, council staff also removed five tonnes of rubbish from beside Sydney Road, from the bypass to Union Street. Cr Kirk said this was done despite it being the Roads and Maritime Service’s responsibility.
Cr Kirk also estimated volunteers had removed 25 tonnes of rubbish from the West Goulburn reserve over four years.
“I just implore everyone to be on the lookout for these perpetrators, to discourage them and help the council and police prosecute them,” he said.
“I just find it flabbergasting. We are supposed to be the intelligent species but we’re the only one that destroys our own backyard.”
