BRIMBANK commuters are dumping rubbish at railway stations in larger quantities than ever, according to rail operator Metro.
Illegal household and business waste has been growing rapidly at stations between Sunshine and Sydenham over the past 12 months, with Sunshine and St Albans listed among Melbourne’s worst dumping sites.
Sunshine West resident Michelle Edwards said she was appalled at the level of rubbish piling up around dumpsters in the south-eastern car park at Sunshine station.
“It appears that Metro has put nothing in place to deter people from dumping their rubbish there. [It has] a rather inconsistent approach to getting it cleaned up,” she said.
“In recent times I’ve seen it take more than a week for piles of rubbish to be cleared.”
Ms Edwards said the dumped rubbish had gone from being unsightly to posing a danger.
Brimbank Council has a rapid response unit that inspects dumping hot spots. But it said rubbish piling up at stations was a matter for Metro.
Metro spokesman Daniel Hoare blamed councils for cutting back on hard rubbish collection and for landfill price hikes.
“Sunshine is a huge problem for us,” he said.
“We have at least three collections a week and will sometimes need to have them daily.”
Actions to tackle the problem include covert cameras, sifting through the rubbish to try to trace the owner, and working with transit police and the EPA.
But Mr Hoare admitted Metro was losing the battle to keep illegal dumping at bay.
