Rubbish turns Adelaide suburbs into ‘Wingfield dump’

A now-deleted Facebook post shows rubbish piled at the front of a Smithfield Plains house. Picture: Facebook.

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Residents in Adelaide’s north say their suburbs have “more waste than the Wingfield dump’’, with one council admitting it is spending more than $1m a year to tackle illegally discarded rubbish.

Trolleys, office chairs, rugs, chemical bottles and torn, overflowing garbage bags were piled more than a metre high in the latest incident of roadside dumping, which was reported to Playford Council early this week.

Investigations are underway after the mountain of trash was left on the footpath outside a seemingly abandoned house at Smithfield Plains, dwarfing the property’s boundary fence.

A now-deleted Northern Suburbs Facebook post about the eyesore attracted more than 400 comments, with some suggesting the rubbish was initially piled in front of the home’s carport but was later shifted to the street verge.

Rubbish dumped near Andrews Rd in the Playford Council area earlier this year. Picture: Facebook.

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Locals say the house has been vacant for several months.

Attempts to identify the property owner were unsuccessful.

A Playford Council spokesperson said the council had been “monitoring concerns’’ about illegally dumped rubbish in Smithfield Plains since early this month.

The spokesperson said the council immediately removed the rubbish, which was deemed a potential safety risk, from outside the Crittenden Rd house after it received a report on Monday.

“Investigations are continuing to determine whether enforcement action will be taken,’’ the spokesperson said.

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Penalties for illegal dumping range from a $1000 on-the-spot fine to a $120,000 fine or two years imprisonment.

Illegally dumped rubbish was now costing the council more than $1m a year to remove, the spokesperson said, describing it as an “inconsiderate act that impacts communities right across South Australia’’.

Smithfield Plains is not the only suburb within the council area to fall victim to illegal dumping, with residents taking to social media to complain about rubbish discarded at nearby Smithfield, Munno Para, Andrews Farm and Craigmore, as well as the outskirts of One Tree Hill.

Dumped rubbish was removed from an Andrews Rd site in the Playford Council area earlier this year. Picture: Facebook.

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When Playford councillor David Kerrison recently called for ratepayers to report any concerns to the council, he received dozens of Facebook replies drawing his attention to the disgusting state of several locations, including the carparks at the Craigmore Village shopping centre and the Elizabeth East kindergarten.

One local described Andrews Rd as having “more waste than Wingfield dump’’.

“It’s about time cameras were installed in more places to catch these t**ts (who illegally dump rubbish) and prosecute them,’’ said another.

The council spokesperson said households were provided two free hard waste collection services a year.

“`We encourage everyone to dispose of items responsibly,’’ the spokesperson said.

– by Lauren Ahwan