A ute full of chocolate bars, chips and soft drinks was the result of a confusing tidy-up effort over the weekend as snack food continues to be dumped in one Aussie city in a bizarre series of offences.
A seemingly never-ending dumping crisis has hit Townsville in recent years, and the issue has taken an unusual turn with in-date snack food now being discarded in dumping hotspots. The first incident occurred in June near the Bohle River, and on Sunday, more than $300 worth of snacks were found in the city’s west near Blackriver. It’s the seventh incident of its kind.
“For some reason, someone is dumping hundreds of dollars’ worth of in-date stock from a shop,” Dave Dudley, the founder of Tidy Up Townsville, an organisation devoted to tackling the dumping crisis, told Yahoo News.
Dave announced he would be stepping back from his continued efforts several months ago, but admitted to Yahoo he hasn’t had the chance since the dumping offences have been coming thick and fast, adding that the food dumps are really puzzling him.
“Everything is well in date and nothing is opened. It’s weird,” he said.
It’s the seventh confectionery dumping since June. Source: Facebook/Tidy Up Townsville
Confectionary goes to waste as questions remain over dumpings
A fellow volunteer was the one to pick up the individual chocolate bars, chips and drinks on Sunday before taking them all to the dump. Dave said it pains him to see the “treats” go to waste, but the team has no other option but to dispose of them.
“It all goes to the dump. You wouldn’t resell that stuff, but there’s nothing wrong with it… It’s a treat for someone, but they’re throwing it all on the ground and just leaving it,” he said.
The incidents have been reported to authorities, but no one is any closer to understanding who is behind the unusual dumping offences or why it is happening.
“We’ve not been able to find any leads, there are no receipts amongst it, there’s no identification. Chocolate bars are five or six bucks now, and a packet of chips is like four bucks… It’s a lot,” Dave said.
Yahoo News has contacted the local council for further comment.
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