A Melbourne waste collection operator has been fined for illegally dumping waste around the city, following an investigation by the Victorian branch of the Environmental Protection Authority.
Alex Anasis, who operates Dirty Harry, a waste disposal business, was fined this week for illegally dumping 90 cubic metres of waste material at a Diggers Rest property.
He was fined more than $82,000 without conviction over dumping construction and household waste at the site. It is not the first time he has been caught and fined by the EPA.
In 2016, he was fined $64,000 in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court for illegally dumping rubbish that covered an area the size of a football field in Ardeer.
Despite the fines, the business remains open.
The EPA utilised aerial drones to capture footage of the waste stockpiles after a tip off from a member of the public.
One member of the public, Bill PAtten, who leased a portion of land to Mr Anasis in Ardeer, explained that he didn’t believe the land would be cleaned up, despite the prosecution.
“He won’t clean it,” Mr Patten said. “There’s no way known. I’m disgusted.”
Mr Patten said that, considering his enquiries into the industry in the last few years, he believed Mr Anasis to be one of the worst polluters in the state.