Council deploys waste response teams to target illegally dumped rubbish

Waste Response Teams deployed to target illegally dumped rubbish have helped reduce Hume City Council’s clean-up bill. It’s just one of the ways the municipality is cleaning up.

In response to a spike in illegally dumped rubbish around the streets of Melbourne’s northern outer suburbs, Hume City Council introduced its Waste Response Program in October 2023.

Jeni Jackson, Waste Operations Coordinator for Hume City Council says the council wanted to take a different approach to addressing the growing problem.

“The incident rates of dumped rubbish were increasing rapidly and the cost that council was spending on the removal of dumped rubbish was increasing every year,” she says.

“It also became very clear from our communities that they wanted council to do more on the issue, simply coming around to remove dumped rubbish wasn’t good enough.”

With the aim to reduce illegal dumping at the source, the council took a preventative approach rather than having to correct behaviour after the dumping had occurred.

“People learn by seeing what other people do,” Jeni says.

“If residents watch us pick up dumped rubbish with no intervention for the person responsible to take accountability, they will think that is the correct way to get rid of materials.

“The aim of the trial was to help residents understand legal ways of disposing of their unwanted furniture, electrical items, mattresses and other items, instead of abandoning them on the nature strip.”

The Waste Response Program involved deploying teams of two person crews across 12 suburbs, on the lookout for rubbish dumped on nature strips.

“If crews drive past a house with rubbish, they will doorknock and hand out pamphlets to let the community know about hard rubbish collection, free tip passes and council drop off days,” Jeni says.

“We are really trying to change behaviour in the community by having open conversations about the correct way to dispose of hard rubbish.

Hume City Council has found success in its Waste Response Program since its introduction in 2023. Image: Hume City Council

“We care about the community. We want Hume to be a place where people love to live and a place where they can enjoy themselves without looking at piles of rubbish everywhere.”

The crews also doorknock neighbouring houses to inform residents of the dumping happening on the street, how to report it and how to dispose of their own waste.

Jeni says the team provides the resident the opportunity to do the right thing and remove the rubbish without threat of a fine.

“We felt it was important that we never threaten them with fines or other methods of enforcement,” she says.

“This way, the experience will remain friendly and become a positive interaction between Hume City Council and the community members.”

The program was made permanent in March 2025.

Jeni says the council considers the trial to be a tremendous success, engaging with over 22,000 households during the 18-month period.

She says most residents were willing to do the right thing and learn the correct way to dispose of their rubbish – most times even booking a hard rubbish collection on the spot.

“We measured the program’s success through the number of jobs the crews attended and also from feedback they provided,” she says.

“If the resident moved the rubbish or booked a hard waste collection, we took that as a successful outcome.”

Jeni says crews often reported that residents were grateful the council had taken the time to educate its residents.

“More often than not, feedback indicated that residents didn’t know they were doing the wrong thing, and they appreciated the opportunity to correct their behaviour,” she says.

“We have absolutely noticed respect within the community, and we acknowledge that people aren’t purposely doing the wrong thing.”

Understanding that Hume is a “growth municipality”, Jeni says the team is aware there is always going to be the need for ongoing education.

“There are new and emerging subdivisions which need support with disposing waste correctly and that is something we are going to continue working through,” she says.

“We have a highly transient population which means a lot of renters move in and out of the municipality and need to be educated on Hume’s way of doing things.

“Council also has new developments and new residents coming into Hume frequently, so there’s always people who require education on council waste services.”

Another indicator that the initiative has proven successful is a reduction in council dollars spent on hard rubbish collections.

“We have consistently monitored the cost illegal dumping has had on the council. This year, for the first time in many years, we saw a reduction,” says Jeni.

In addition to the Waste Response Program, Hume City Council recently increased its number of Hume Clean Days from one Saturday to a whole weekend each quarter. On Hume Clean Days, residents can drop off a number of large and bulky items, including mattresses and couches, as well as car and truck tyres, at council’s resource recovery centres in Campbellfield and Sunbury.

To help the region’s larger acreage properties, organics was recently added as an acceptable material.

It’s one of the many options the council is trying to give residents to dispose of waste responsibly.

“During our most recent September, December and March Hume Clean Days, residents dropped off 403 couches, 958 mattresses and 2722 tyres,” Jeni says.

“Since we introduced the acceptance of organics in September 2024, we’ve received 415 loads of garden waste.

“We are definitely seeing an increased amount of material coming through.”

Jeni hopes other councils can draw on Hume’s success to adopt similar practices across their municipalities.

“We know many councils across Australia are facing the same issues as we did with illegal dumping, so we wanted to share our success story,” she says.

“It is a great initiative and has changed Hume for the better.”