Australian Rural & Regional News asked a few further questions of CANEGROWERS, answered below the release.

CANEGROWERS, Media Release, 28 March 2022

Peak sugarcane organisation CANEGROWERS is seeking urgent discussions with local government amid an escalation of people using Queensland farms as dumping grounds.

“It’s a huge and distressing problem for many cane growers and other farmers who are doing their best to produce sustainable food and fibre,” CANEGROWERS Chief Executive Office Dan Galligan said.

“Finding piles of household garbage, mountains of building rubble, old appliances, broken furniture and tyres is all too common for farmers close to Queensland towns and cities. When working with machinery in tall cane crops, such as during the harvest, this debris poses a significant safety hazard.

“It is infuriating that people are passing on their mess and the cost of its disposal to someone else by dumping on the farms that grow the food they eat.

“With anecdotal feedback pointing to high local dump fees as a possible reason for this disgusting practice in some regions, I will be seeking discussions with the Local Government Association of Queensland to better understand how this problem can be stopped.”

This month the CANEGROWERS magazine, Australian Canegrower, highlighted the case of a grower in the northern Gold Coast region who found more than 1,000 tyres dumped on a track between cane fields on her farm.

“This situation highlighted the struggle growers across the state face when trying to get help with this unwelcome problem – councils often state they have no power or responsibility and police seem unable to assist in tracking down culprits,” Mr Galligan said.

“While we welcome the Queensland Government’s provision of grants to assist with the most difficult clean-up tasks and provide more resources to local government to investigate, it would be better for everyone if this disgusting practice never happened in the first place.

“I urge Queenslanders to please stop doing this. Please show respect to the farms growing your food and do not use them as dumps.

“I will be working with all local and state agencies to determine strategies to deter and act on illegal dumping.”

Australian Rural & Regional News asked these further questions of CANEGROWERS:

ARR.News: What are the (approximate) costs to the grower to clean up rubbish dumped on their farms?

CANEGROWERS: The cost varies between local government areas. If it is a ute load of material, it can cost for example $15 in the Mackay region but if its building waste it could be around $100 in the Whitsunday Region. Of course the more complex or dangerous the waste, such as car bodies or tyres, the cost can be higher. On top of that, there’s the personal risk in picking up and handling the rubbish and the time spent loading it and driving it to the dump which could be many kilometres from the farm. This is lost working time for the grower.

ARR.News: What would the costs be to the dumper to dump the same rubbish at the relevant local government dump?

CANEGROWERS: This varies from council to council and if it is domestic/household rubbish or from a business. Both kinds of waste have been left on farms. The people dumping the rubbish on farms are passing on the cost to the farmer. If it is a ute load of material, it can cost for example $15 in the Mackay region and if it’s building waste around $100 in the Whitsunday Region.

ARR.News: Have you discussed with any councils or government body: the cost of dumping? allowing reduced or free dumping to encourage people to use tips? (and so reduce the incidence of illegal dumping)

CANEGROWERS: This will be one option in the discussions CANEGROWERS is seeking with the Local Government Association of Queensland.

ARR.News: How much of the rubbish dumped would you say is in the category of hazardous waste (eg asbestos) that is costly to dump at tips? (where the high cost to dump legally may be the reason why it has been illegally dumped on a farm)

CANEGROWERS: This is unknown as growers have been quietly cleaning up and there is no mechanism at present for them to report it. Councils often say they have no responsibility for material on private property. A register or reporting, particularly to find repeat offenders, could also be part of the discussions CANEGROWERS is seeking with the Local Government Association.

ARR.News: Do you believe it would be in the best interests of farmers, property owners and/ or the environment for councils to encourage proper dumping of, especially hazardous, waste by making it free or at least low cost?

CANEGROWERS: Absolutely.