Authorities say consumers will end up paying twice for the disposal of hundreds of used car tyres found in Queensland national parks in recent weeks.
The ABC reports that more than 550 used tyres were dumped in three separate locations in the Springbrook National Park west of the Gold Coast in a 48-hour period last week.
Queensland’s environment department said on Monday (August 11) that a clean-up operation was ongoing as it investigates the illegal dumping, and it’s calling for public assistance to help find those responsible.
Another 200 tyres were finally removed from a deep ravine in the Isla Gorge National Park southwest of Rockhampton in June, after they were found during a bushfire last October.
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Authorities believe a business or individual had been dumping tyres in the same location off the Leichhardt Highway for several months, and say they pose a significant fire risk as well as polluting a highly sensitive environment.
“They all look very similar in degradation, so I would say they [were dumped] within the last year,” senior ranger Chris Job told the ABC.
“We believe someone in the region knows who is responsible… and we are asking anyone with information to call us.”
The illegal dumping delayed bushfire hazard reduction plans by the Department of Environment.
“Isla Gorge had a large planned burn for this season for hazard reduction,” said Mr Job. “With those tyres in the deep ravine it was unwise to burn.
“It’s quite a large fire risk – 200 tyres going up in one single location would put a lot of toxic smoke up and is obviously horrible for the environment.”
Banana Shire Council mayor Nev Ferrier described the illegal dumping in the national park’s maze of gorges and sandstone outcrops, which are popular with bushwalkers and campers, as “heartbreaking”.
“It’s just disgraceful,” he told the ABC. “Whoever did this clearly has no regard for the land, our national parks, or the people who care for them.
“The Isla Gorge is one of the most beautiful parts of our region and to see it treated like this is heartbreaking.”
In both cases, the tyres will be sent to a recycler for processing, but the recovery operation in Isla Gorge National Park alone amounted to at least $100,000 for the hire of a 130-tonne crane, according to the ABC.
Of course, that bill will end up being paid by taxpayers, in addition to the tyre disposal and recycling fees paid by motorists to tyre fitters, which can vary between $7.60 and $15.
Head of the environment department’s waste and enforcement services, Jackie McKeay, told the ABC she suspected a commercial operator was likely to be responsible and that people caught dumping would be hit with fines of up to $330 for individuals and $12,000 for corporations.
“It’s incredibly frustrating when there’s many options available to people to do the right thing,” she said.
“Tyre dumping is not just an eyesore but they really do pollute our soil and waterways and threaten our native animals.”
Lina Goodman, the CEO of Tyre Stewardship Australia, an organisation run by the tyre industry, said tyre retailers are cashing in on tyre disposal fees by dumping rather than recycling them.
“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,” she said.
“There’s people who think they can make a quick buck collecting tyres from unsuspecting retailers and dumping them in a national park.”
Ms Goodman said research by the organisation found this “waste crime” could cost Queensland councils up to $32 per tyre to clean up.
And with the equivalent of nearly 70 million used tyres reportedly produced just last year, she called on the federal government to intervene in the problem.
“That’s where the problem lies,” said Ms Goodman. “If we have a government that steps in, like in many places in the world, with a mandatory [tyre recycling] scheme… this can all go away if we were regulating the collection and processing of tyres.”