The council along with Queensland Police have taken many steps to curb hooning and prevent illegal dumping around Logan streets. However, there is one place that is being used for both.

Bega Road in Kingston is a hoons hotspot and despite only being one way in and out, the rubber is being burnt on the road most nights.

Adding insult to injury is the hundreds of kilos of rubbish, including lounges and cribs to concrete and car parts, being dumped on the road and in the bushland.

Bega Road is the home to Kingston State College and Kingston Learning College plus is a back entry to Groves Christian College. There are several businesses that use this road, and it is also home to Kingston Pioneer Cemetery.

The road itself offers little street lighting, there are no cameras in the area and where the main offences take place is out of direct site of the main road it connects to, Kingston Road.

Currently there is no plan for a camera, however council has an advanced covert surveillance system across the City of Logan to capture illegal dumping activities and assist with enforcement actions.

Council has an Illegal Dumping Taskforce and they have been working with council’s Community Safety area on an audit on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) for Bega Road to prevent future hooning and illegal dumping activities.

With regards to cleaning up the mess, council’s Illegal Dumping Taskforce investigates all cases and, where the offender is identified, directs them to remove the waste at their own cost, on top of any penalties issued concurrently.

Waste that poses public health or environmental health hazards may be removed immediately by council while an investigation and enforcement action continue in the background.

While the dumping continues, council know that Bega Road is a known location for illegal dumping and the taskforce conducts regular patrols and ongoing investigations at this location.

“Logan City Council has zero tolerance for illegal dumping,” said Infrastructure Committee chair and councillor for division 2, Teresa Lane.

“Council established an Illegal Dumping Taskforce in 2021 and is in partnership with the Queensland Government’s Department of Environment and Science through the Illegal Dumping Grant Program.

“Last year, council endorsed a 3-year Illegal Dumping Enforcement Strategy and allocated $500,000 to the taskforce to enforce illegal dumping issue through to 2025.”

Council is running a marketing campaign to increase awareness and encourage the public to report illegal dumping issues.

“This strategy is focused on raising public awareness through proactive education, increased use of surveillance technology and tougher enforcement.

“Division 2, which I represent, is also hosting a pilot Dob in a Dumper campaign targeting illegal rubbish disposal.

“The trial has helped to reduce the incidence of dumping on local streets with council officers investigating every report made by residents,” said Cr Lane.

Recently in Eagleby the CPTED had a success where a section of Eagleby Road was closed to prevent hooning and illegal dumping without impacting nearby residents.

With Bega Road not able to be closed off, council are still hopeful for a similar success in reducing hooning and illegal dumping.

Illegal dumping can be reported by contacting council via email at [email protected] or calling 3412 3412.