Across the state, councils have spent $89 million responding to illegal waste dumping in 2019-20, responding to over 330,000 reports.

Conducted by environmental group, Keep Victoria Beautiful (KVB), the intent of this research was to determine the scale and impact of illegal waste across Victoria and "establish reliable data in order to improve state government policy" according to KVB.

Authorised officers from 53 of Vic's 79 councils were interviewed for the survey, which included Horsham Rural City but not other councils across the Wimmera.

Western region councils, including Horsham Rural City, were found to pay a higher cost per incident than counterparts across the state.

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The report also found while there has been a dramatic uptick in construction, household, clothing and green waste discarded in parklands, on nature strips and on council property, the biggest growth has been in the dumping of asbestos contaminated soil.

The average council issued 96 infringements and referred two incidents to court, less than 2.5 per cent of all incidents.

According to the report, challenges in the enforcement of waste dumping for councils include a lack of time, restrictive internal processes, management attitudes (illegal waste not being a priority or being thought of as a PR risk), a lack of training in dealing with the issue and insufficient investigation knowledge.

KVB enforcement training manager, Travis Finlayson, warned the figures might be conservative given that only councils were interviewed for survey, not all landowners, and the pick up of waste crime during COVID-19, as landfills and transfer stations were closed to the public.

Other reasons for such figures could include investigations being compromised and the explosion of people getting rid of unwanted items during lockdown, according to Mr Finlayson.

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"We're now seeing dumping activity extending into regional Vic where crazy volumes of waste are being abandoned in national parks and forests, putting our environment, waterways and wildlife at enormous risk," Finlayson said.

"In fact, what is even more alarming is how brazen offending has become.

"It no longer happens under cover of darkness but in broad daylight for all to see; people do it because they know they can get away with it."

Asked what the key barriers are to managing our burgeoning problem, respondents to the Annual Illegal Waste Survey said it is the sheer scale of dumping coupled with inadequate enforcement.

"Typically councils have an average of five staff working in enforcement but their time is divided across all areas of enforcement," Mr Finlayson said.

Collectively these officers spend little more than 1.2 days per week managing illegal waste.

"However the average council is expected to monitor, manage and respond to around 11 incidents and call-outs each and every day."

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According to Keep Victoria Beautiful, the problem was further accelerated with an increase in the landfill levy in July (from $65.90 to $105.95 per tonne) which has resulted in commercial dumping reaching 'epidemic' proportions.

Also contributing to the enforcement problem was the fact that many councils don't have the right policies, procedures and frameworks to enable their officers to do their jobs appropriately.

"What this means is that despite Councils being a joint regulator under the Environment Protection Act 2017 and despite officers having the powers to investigate and prosecute illegal dumping, the majority don't know how to respond appropriately, particularly when it comes to difficult investigations," Mr Finlayson said.

"Neither do they have the confidence or courage to engage or prosecute offenders."

Asked what can be done to fix the problem, survey respondents say there is an urgent need for the State Government and the EPA to truly throw their support behind councils, rather than cutting them loose and leaving them to manage the waste crime problem alone.

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