Illegal dump picked for clean up

By ERWIN CHLANDA Clean up of this site (above), one of hundreds around Alice Springs where rubbish has been dumped illegally, has now been "programmed" according to the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics (DIPL). The concrete blocks and metal waste, which have been disposed of on Crown Land to the west of the Road Transport Hall of Fame years if not decades ago, were pointed out to DIPL in a test by the Alice Springs News of the NeatStreets app recommended by the department. The app, which can be downloaded onto smart phones, "has demonstrated that tasks are passed on to the appropriate landowner without the requirement for the member of the public to determine this information," says the department. "NeatStreets initially allocated the task to the ASTC, who quite appropriately re-allocated it to NTG as the site is on Crown land. Clean up of this site has since been programmed by DIPL. "Due to the enormous volume of illegal dumping in Alice Springs and environs, there is a backlog of removals on the program," says the department. "This backlog was exacerbated by the recent lockdown. "The Town Council and the NT Government are continuing to collaborate to identify ways to reduce the prevalence of illegal dumping by some residents and businesses in Alice Springs. "Members of the public can assist in cleaning up our town by disposing of their rubbish at the Regional Waste Management Facility and by continuing to use NeatStreets to report illegal dumping." The spokesman says garbage illegally dumped on Crown Land within the municipality is the responsibility the NT Government. The town council’s Waste Management Advisory Committee adopted the following motion in June: “That Council invite the NT Government to partner in developing a pilot strategy for the management of illegal waste in the Alice Springs area.”