The effect of unregulated dump sites

First off, what is an unregulated dump site? These are illegal and unmonitored areas where rubbish is dumped on usually public land so dumpers can avoid paying disposal fees or save time/effort instead of visiting appropriate waste areas.

The pollution from unregulated dumps

In Australia – furniture, packaging and organic waste are the most frequently illegally dumped rubbish, with construction materials, old tyres, abandoned cars and hazardous waste also popular items for illegal dumping.

Popular illegal dumping zones tends to be roadways, bushlands, undeveloped lots, abandoned buildings etc and often illegally dumped materials attract more illegal dumping and create large amounts of waste as piles build.

The effects of these illegal and unregulated waste sites are obvious, yet worth mentioning; as well as damaging the aesthetics of an area, contaminates can leach into plant life, harming plants and animals and scarring landscapes. During rainfall the waste can effect drainage and cause flooding as well as affecting health and ecology of waterways. In Australia the only way to clear these areas currently is to collect all of the waste and send to a landfill. This means that any of the waste that could potentially have been recycled (like beverage cans, organic waste fridges etc) aren’t and local councils have to cover the cost of the waste. They create physical hazards, attract rodents and can lead to fires either by arson or spontaneous combustion.

Australian local councils reportedly spend $100,000 per year on cleaning up illegal waste. It’s a sad waste of Council time and money and a real shame that our environment has to suffer because of those individuals that choose to dump waste illegally.