General News
6 December, 2023
Outrage at ever growing eyesore
Dimboola's locals are outraged over the "ever growing heap of scrap" at the Dimboola Lions Club collection depot on Hindmarsh Street which is being misused by other residents as a dump for their general rubbish.
A concerned resident who wished to remain anonymous contacted the Dimboola Banner to voice their disappointment in locals having no care or pride in their community, and the need for the area to be maintained.
"I think if it was cleared regularly and maintained, it wouldn't be such an issue, and hopefully less likely for locals dumping things like curtains, general rubbish and mattresses etc," the resident said.
"It is an eye sore for passengers on the train."
Visiting the site to capture photos, the resident said there was a lot of mess and the blowflies around the rubbish were "horrible".
Dimboola Lions Club secretary Jan John expressed her frustration at the community's minority, saying the facility was for "metal specifically", yet people had been dumping general waste, and sometimes large pieces of rubbish and furniture.
"The facility is on a block that is vacant, near the railway line, and it is specifically just for metal," Ms John said.
"We are very disappointed.
"We have had people dumping mattresses and all sorts of bits and bobs, and we also have had people go up there and take the metal away.
"We are not really happy, and we are looking for another spot that we can utilise that has facilities where we can put cameras up."
Ms John explained the Lions Club have been collecting metal for some time, and there was a farmer who allowed them to use his property previously.
After the farmer decided to sell his property, the collection site was moved closer to town.
"We sell the metal, and we then donate bits and pieces back to the community," Ms John said.
The Lions offer recycling as one of their services, Ms John said, and metal has been collected from the facility numerous times, but the general rubbish is left over and the Lions volunteers were then left with the costly exercise of taking it to the tip.
"We try and do things to assist the community," Ms John said.
"And on the whole, the community is good at recycling.
“We try to get things out the way and off the street rather than put them in the waste, but it is a shame people are doing the wrong thing."