Illegal Dumping, Hardwaste Collection and FREE recycling in Burnie

Published on 02 December 2020

As part of its illegal dumping removal program, Council is carrying out works on Fern Glade Road in December 2020 to remove this waste and allow the area to naturally regenerate. These works will occur along a 1.6km length of road reserve, which borders both private and Council land.

Burnie City Council Mayor Steve Kons said “Council staff collect isolated illegal dumping as part of its day to day operations, but this is a whole different ball game. Due to the location and vast amount of dumped waste in this area, it will be a significant undertaking and requires a temporary road closure to do the job safely. Items that will be retrieved include furniture, mattresses, car body parts, old TV’s, tyres, general household garbage, and large amounts of plastic and green waste.

“Illegal dumping threatens the health of Tasmania’s environment and wildlife and can lead to long-term contamination of land, waterways and groundwater. Dumping of waste and garbage is an offence under the Litter Act 2007 and can attract court penalties. If you see someone littering you can lodge a report by calling the Litter Hotline on 1300 135 513.

Various grants are made available for waste management initiatives such as this through the Regional Waste Management Group, of which Council is a member.

During last month’s Hardwaste Collection, Council collected 210 tonnes of waste, a significant increase from last year’s collection. Around half of the material collected was recyclable, which may be dropped off for free at the Burnie Waste Management Centre. City Mission partnered with the Hardwaste collection to recover materials where possible.

Mayor Kons said “Items such as furniture, barbecues and fridges were collected over the 2 week period. Overall the community did a great job, with only some not following the collection rules by putting out prohibited items such as tyres, household garbage and mattresses, or exceeding the volume per household.

“The fact that 50% of our Hardwaste Collection this year was recyclable tells us that we need to focus on getting the message out to our community that it is FREE to drop off recyclable material at our Waste Management Centre. We have been doing a lot of work at the Centre to make it easier for people to drop off their sorted recycling, including the new extension of our resource recovery area.”

These free to drop off items include cans, bottles, cardboard, clothing, waste oil, batteries, gas bottles, e-waste, mobile phones. More information can be found on our Waste Management Centre web page.

The Burnie Tip Shop also accepts various re-usable items and materials throughout the year, including offcuts of building materials, timber, quality used furniture and household goods. Give the Tip Shop Team a call on 6430 5865 if you want to check if your items can be accepted.

 Please remember that throughout the year:

For further information please contact:

Communications Officer, Burnie City Council, P 03 6430 5700 - M 0448 568 728