A group of residents rolled up their sleeves last month and got to work to rid their pristine bushland surroundings of piles of rubbish.
A total of 10 residents from four houses on Wahroonga Road in Mount Nasura traded their public holiday sleep in for rubbish bags and hard yakka to clean up what they say is about four years worth of household rubbish and green waste.
Volunteer Rebecca Ginbey said the group collected everything from bags of cement, mattresses and bed frames in a little more than an hour on January 27.
“Twice this year the council were contacted about finding a solution for the problem,” she said.
“The council clarified that the bushland located to the rear of the hospital is the hospital’s responsibility to maintain, however this is clearly not being done.”
The group said they will continue to monitor the area as many of them regularly walk through the bushland, however they believe it should not be the community’s responsibility to maintain someone else’s property.
“The bulk of the junk has been there for four years and demonstrates the lack of responsibility that either the hospital or council have for cleaning it up,” they said.
“One of the residents has confirmed that the same pile of junk was still there even after spending three years on secondment in Melbourne.”
Many of the residents said they are also concerned about four-wheel-drive vehicles and dirt bike riders who regularly drive through the bushland, making it unsafe for walkers.
An Armadale Hospital spokesperson confirmed the bush area to the east/south east of the main hospital block is unfenced and is consequently accessed by some members of the community.
“Our hospital grounds maintenance staff undertake regular rubbish removal, generally larger items that may be illegally dumped there but not necessarily general litter unless brought to our attention,” they said.
“They also prune/remove trees as necessary where a hazard is identified.”
A city spokesperson confirmed that while it is not its responsibility to collect rubbish from private property, the city removed the collection of rubbish on January 30 from Salter Road, which is under the city’s responsibility.
