Around 550 tyres were dumped in three separate locations inside Springbrook National Park within 48 hours, with Queensland’s environment department saying a clean-up operation is on the way
Dumping more than 550 used car tyres in Queensland’s national park could cost drivers twice as much. According to the state’s environment department, there may have been three separate piles of tyres dumped inside the Springbrook National Park on the Gold Coast last week. The department also called for public assistance to help find those who did it.
Jackie McKeay, head of waste and enforcement services for the department, said the dumping was “extremely serious” and could cause harm to sensitive environments. “Tyre dumping is not just an eyesore, but they really do pollute our soil and waterways and threaten our native animals,” she said.
Ms McKeay said removing the tyres meant the state would also be hit with a bill, even though consumers pay disposal fees to automotive retailers. She emphasised that the fines of up to $330 for individuals or $12,000 for corporations exist for those who get caught dumping. She said she suspected a commercial operator could be responsible for it. “It’s incredibly frustrating,” she said. “When there’s many options available to people to do the right thing.”
According to Lina Goodman, CEO of Tyre Stewardship Australia, the dumping was a “waste crime” and the story was not unfamiliar. She stated that retailers often charge between $7.60 and $15 to take tyres away for recycling or disposal.
Ms Goodman said operators could exploit these fees by offering to dispose of tyres cheaply and dumping them instead. “The people that lose out are the people who live in the [area] that are not only paying for the disposal of the tyre when they’re taking it to a retail shop but then they’re having to pay for it again … to clean the mess up when it’s in a national park,” Ms Goodman said.
She said the organisation’s research had found it could cost Queensland councils up to $32 per tyre to clean it up and called on the federal government to intervene.
“That’s where the problem lies,” she said.”If we have a government that steps in, like in many places in the world, with a mandatory [disposal] scheme … this can all go away if we were regulating the collection and processing of tyres.”
