By Brendan Rees
Piles of rubbish dumped illegally beside a shared trail in Berwick, near the Monash Freeway, has disgusted a resident.
The resident, who asked not to be named, said he had regularly seen rubbish bags dumped sporadically along the side of Hallam Bypass Trail, usually among shrubs and trees, as he took his dogs for a walk.
On some occasions he had seen people sleeping in tents with some, who appeared to be middle-aged, drinking alcohol.
Dumped rubbish along the side of the trail was particularly bad between Insignia Crescent and Princes Highway, the resident said, which included anything from garden waste, wood, and rolls of carpet. When Star News recently visited the area, household items such as chairs were also seen dumped.
The resident said the issue had been ongoing for the past year.
Casey Council confirmed the land was managed by VicRoads.
A spokesperson for the Department of Transport, which integrated with VicRoads last year, said: “We aim to keep our roadside reserves clean and free from litter and other debris – dumping rubbish is illegal, and if you see it report it to the police.”
“We encourage everyone to dispose of their rubbish properly.”
In the past 12 months, VicRoads said it had responded to 220 rubbish-related jobs along the 13.7km Hallam Bypass Trail, which runs between Doveton and Berwick.
These had varied from objects that had fallen off vehicles, general litter tossed from vehicles and larger bulks of deliberately dumped waste.
The resident, who had taken photos of the rubbish, said when he tried to contact VicRoads up to 10 times they still “hadn’t been in touch”.
“I walk down there most days … it’s ugly and it’s a bit dangerous for anyone.
“Obviously a lot of people walking at the moment down there. I’m surprised it hasn’t been reported a bit more,” he said.
The resident said one of his dogs had cut her foot while walking along the trail about eight months ago, costing him $800 in Vet bills.
“She had sliced her foot open because it hadn’t been cleared down there,” he said.
“I spoke to them (VicRoads) about that and they didn’t want to hear anything about that either.”
Residents are to report illegal dumping to the Traffic Management Centre on 13 11 70.
