By Alesha Capone
CCTV cameras could be installed at a Sunshine shopping centre to deter rogue rubbish dumpers in the area.
A spokeswoman for Centro Properties Group, which owns the Sunshine Marketplace in Harvester Rd, said they were considering a range of options to crackdown on illegal rubbish dumping, as talks between staff and Brimbank City Council continue.
The council is working with the owners of private car parks within the municipality, such as the Sunshine Marketplace, on issues including residents dumping waste in unauthorised areas.
The Sunshine Marketplace is also considering installing cages around their car park bins to deal with the problem.
Brimbank’s general manager of city development, Stephen Sully, said although the council was not responsible for clearing rubbish on private land, last year they did a “one off” clean-up at the Marketplace as part of rejuvenating the Sunshine Town Centre.
“Council is aware that at times the bins and the area around the bins outside the Village Cinemas become untidy with excessive rubbish being placed or dumped in the area,” he said.
“On these occasions council has notified, or when required, issued a compliance notice on the Marketplace Shopping Centre management to have the area cleaned up.”
He said “council is keen to open channels of communication and put in place processes that will enable us to work in partnership with Marketplace management to stop the practice of littering and illegal rubbish dumping, and to improve the safety and amenity of the area.”
Mr Sully said in the three years from January 2008-December 2010, the council issued 228 infringements for littering within the municipality.
“Dumped rubbish is a significant problem throughout the municipality and imposes a substantial cost on council and subsequently on every resident,” he said.
Sunshine Residents and Ratepayers Association president Darlene Reilly said installing CCTV and bin cages at the Marketplace was a welcome idea.
“CCTV in the car park as well as in the dumping bin area would make people feel a lot safer and make people think twice before committing crimes,” she said.
