More than 2100 tyres have been illegally dumped in Moorabool shire in the last 12 months, and council and environmental authorities are urging the community to spare the environment and dispose of their used tyres legally and responsibly.
Melton council chief executive Derek Madden said some areas of the shire are repeatedly used to dump tyres, such as Buckleys Road in Merrimu and along Glenmore Road.
“Making up a large chunk of the number of tyres dumped was one instance of 1000 tyres left on Buckleys Rd in October last year,” he said.
“Obviously there is a financial cost to council in removing illegally dumped tyres, which is very frustrating for us and ratepayers. There can also be environmental impacts in dumping tyres.
“We have had successful court case outcomes against people dumping rubbish in the shire, so we caution anyone against doing the wrong thing as it could also be very costly to offenders.”
The Conservation Regulator and Parks Victoria recorded at least 60 separate illegal tyre-dumping incidents across Victorian public land in 2023, with the State’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) estimating that thousands more have been dumped, burned, or stockpiled.
Dumped car tyres can have serious impacts on human and environmental health. Old tyres also contain harmful chemicals that leach into the environment and groundwater as they break down, potentially poisoning plants and animals.
Discarded tyres also present a serious fire risk, as tyre fires are harder to control or extinguish than regular fires. As rubber burns hotter and more easily, tyres dumped in forests can fuel bushfires with devastating effects.
Legal disposal of old tyres reduces these environmental and safety risks, and recycled tyres can often be turned into other products, including roads and artificial playground turf.
EPA Victoria West Metropolitan regional manager Steve Lansdell said waste tyre dumping is a very serious pollution issue, with Victorians generating more than 100,000 tonnes of waste tyres each year and only a small amount bring lawfully reused, recycled or recovered.
“Waste tyres contribute to increased fire risks and environmental harm risks and will not be tolerated. EPA will continue to step in to clean up major waste stockpiles in regional areas and will not hesitate to act if it sees communities are at risk,” he said.
