Roadside find reveals 'disgusting' trend sweeping across Australia: 'A massive issue'
Dave Dudley runs Tidy Up Townsville, a group of over 4,000 members who gather regularly to clean up local dump sites around the north Queensland city. He was dirt biking on Monday morning when he found pieces of charred plastic as well as tyres, bricks and discarded kitchen items along Port Access Road, an area not far from the CBD.
Dave claims the area showed clear signs of what he calls "copper cooking" — the act of pouring petrol onto copper to strip off any unwanted materials from the metal, such as plastic or insulation, before it is sold. It's a well-known method of stripping copper, with two males recently arrested in Alice Springs after they were suspected of burning copper cable in bushland.
Many parts of the country have been grappling with copper theft in recent years, with people stealing it from homes and building sites and selling it to scrap metal dealers who melt and reshape it for reuse, and Townsville is no different.
"Either they go out there and strip it manually, like, run a knife down it to take all the plastic off, or the other easier method is to just sit it in a pile on the ground, and then pour a bit of petrol over it and torch it," he told Yahoo News. "It's burnt, but it's still resaleable."
Dave said the site was "pretty disgusting" and the mess "was spread several metres" along the road. Yahoo News has reached out to Townsville Council for comment.
The behaviour was condemned by the state's Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) who confirmed to Yahoo News officers are aware of it occurring recently.
The spokesperson also warned that any type of dumping on public land was not permitted and offenders could face fines of over $12,000 for dumping large amounts of waste.
"Dumping waste can potentially harm native wildlife and impact nearby soil and water, while also diminishing the experience of park goers," the DETSI spokesperson sad. "We are dedicated to preserving our protected areas in Townsville from dangerous environmental consequences."
As a Townsville local, Dave said his concern continues to rise over this type of behaviour and in a bid to help, he started logging locations in the city where "copper cooking" has been reported. He started a Facebook page and said locals continue to reach out to him, with 52 locations now logged since the start of the year.
"It's a massive issue in Townsville," he said. "What's left is just an oily, congealed mess that's getting washed into the waterways and causing pollution."
Yahoo News has sought comment from Queensland Police on the reports of copper cooking.
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According to the Australian Institute of Criminology, the annual cost of metal theft is valued at well over $100 million, and in Queensland the crime has tripled since 2020. Copper is commonly stolen from vacant homes, construction sites and road infrastructure such as piping and light poles.
Not only is it costly and inconvenient to energy providers and new homeowners, but it's also unsafe with tradies taking the brunt of the issue as criminals wander onto worksites after hours. CCTV footage of two alleged criminals dressed as tradies attempting to steal materials was captured at an Energex site in Queensland.
Another Gold Coast tradie called out the behaviour of criminals who stole water meters from his site last year, saying online he "hopes your $20 in scrap copper was worth it because this is going to be a nightmare to fix, so, cheers for that."
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