River rubbish dumper convicted in Court

Published on 17 June 2019

Rubbish in Wimmera River.jpg

A Horsham man has been fined $3,000 and ordered to pay clean-up costs after being convicted of dumping rubbish into the Wimmera River earlier this year.

Horsham Rural City Council (HRCC) successfully prosecuted the 20-year-old in the Horsham Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Magistrate Peter Dunn gave the offender a severe dressing down, said he could have imprisoned him for the offence and labelled him a disgrace.   

A co-accused 23-year-old Horsham woman did not appear in Court.  A warrant is to be issued for her arrest to face the same charges.

HRCC Local Laws Officers recovered seven bags of rubbish from the waterway after they were thrown from the Riverside Road bridge, north-east of Horsham, some time during the Christmas and New Year period.

Inside the bags were a number of bills containing the names of people from a Creek Crescent address and HRCC and the Environment Protection Authority subsequently launched an investigation.

Director Development Services Angela Murphy said the river was a problem area for dumping and offenders often targeted isolated areas with vehicle access.

“Dump sites often include construction and demolition waste, hazardous materials such as asbestos and household rubbish,” Ms Murphy said.

“The financial cost of cleaning up the dumped rubbish ultimately falls on the ratepayer.

“Council encourages people to report any dumping sites they find,” she said.

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