Continuous dumping of rubbish and lack of protection from a sprinkler at Victoria Park’s Return and Earn machine has led a community volunteer to question if it is in the right place.
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Dubbo Community Men’s Shed president Kevin Sinclair raised his concerns about the positioning of the machine after an “irrigation fault” on Monday night left it waterlogged.
He reported of people using the machine being sprayed with water from a sprinkler that keeps grass green on an adjacent oval and the site becoming a tip for cardboard boxes and unwanted household items including television sets and strollers.
“I have seen residents with four to six black garbage bags put them into the skip or beside it,” he said.
“The skip is for the use of cleaners. It’s not there for the convenience of residents.”
Mr Sinclair said rubbish dumped at the Return and Earn site blew under the gates of the nearby men’s shed.
“First thing we have to do of a morning is clean it up,” he said.
Last week Dubbo Regional Council notified Cleanaway/ TOMRA of a big pile of rubbish in need of clearing, prompting the contractor to boost cleaning of the site to three times a day.
Mr Sinclair is suggesting future works should the machine stay in its current position.
“There needs to be drainage installed to drain water from underfoot and a false wall built to protect people using the machine,” he said.
On Wednesday a council spokesman explained that an “irrigation fault” on Monday evening “involved the irrigation being switched on for longer than normal”.
“This caused some water to pool overnight near the Return and Earn machine,” he said.
“Operations staff will be placing road base around the return and earn machine in the coming weeks to prevent water from pooling in this area in the future.”
The spokesman said council was aware of “one sprinkler that creates overspray which may make contact with people at the machine”.
“However in order to care for the grass in this area the sprinklers are required to be operational on the 360 degrees motion,” he said.
“The ovals are irrigated during the day due to Elston Park and Victoria Park being irrigated at night.
“The two parks cannot be irrigated during the day as Elston Park, Victoria Park, Victoria Park 1 ,2 and 3 are all irrigated from the Elston Park bore.”
