A RESIDENT has expressed serious concern after discovering a pile of what he believed to be old asbestos roofing material discarded near the boardwalk at the Balcombe Creek Estuary in Mt Martha.
Steve Jones reported the find to the Mornington Peninsula Shire on 8 April requesting they assess the potentially hazardous material but to his disappointment, it had only been taped off. Jones, a professional firefighter who created the Country Fire Authority’s only training program related to asbestos, believed the material was old roofing that had likely been dumped for many years. He said the material, most likely corrugated asbestos cement sheets, was currently exposed within just a few feet of the walking track, which runs parallel to Uralla Rd, between Nepean Hwy and Seppelt Ave. The boardwalk stretches about 3.5km through bushland.
The Balcombe Estuary area was formerly used during WWII as a training ground, with an old gun range, which Jones suspected may be connected to the asbestos material or otherwise possibly dumped and washed up in heavy rain. “It’s just washed a big chunk of dirt out into the Balcombe Creek, and it’s exposed to all this asbestos,” he said. “The council’s response has been inadequate, with only two attempts at using traffic tape as a temporary measure until removal ‘sometime in May’.
“As a knowledgeable plumber in the field of asbestos and having lost my father to asbestos poisoning, I am very upset. “I actually offered the council more solutions. One of them I suggested was that it would be almost better to build a small retaining wall and just pile a couple of tons of dirt there and just cover it all up.”
He believed there were at least two sheets of asbestos at the Balcombe Creek Estuary, with possibly more in the ground. “This asbestos has the potential in another heavy rain of ending up in Balcombe Creek. That’s not good, not acceptable,” he said. “You either remove it immediately, or you cordon off the area so people can’t access it, or you cover it. It’s as simple as that. And they’ve done none of the three.”
According to Jones, the asbestos roofing he discovered was non-friable where fibres are less likely to become airborne and not considered a huge risk, but he warned “it can become friable”. Jones also reported the issue to the Environment Protection Authority. The EPA and the shire have been contacted for comment.
Mayor Cr Anthony Marsh said it was “hugely disappointing that somebody has decided to dump rubbish in the Balcombe Creek Reserve”.
“There are significant penalties running into the tens of thousands of dollars for illegally dumping waste and I urge anyone with information about this incident to let us know. Our litter prevention officers proactively investigate all reports of dumped waste where there is a chance of identifying the offender,” he said.
“Illegally dumping rubbish not only damages our environment, it forces the shire to clean it up, a cost that ultimately falls on our ratepayers.
“We have placed mobile CCTV and covert cameras throughout the peninsula, along with signage, fencing and bollards to deter dumpers but we also need the community’s help to catch dumpers. Please report any suspicious activity so our officers can follow it up.”
First published in the Mornington News – 20 May 2025
