Community clear on solution to East Beach dune rubbish

Two former landfill sites buried beneath the sand have vexed locals and government alike since storms a decade ago inconveniently exposed tonnes of rusted out white goods, household waste, broken bottles and sewage. Further storms have unveiled more rubbish over the years until in 2022 the government decided to pursue a long-term solution.

As the first step in deciding what to do, the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA, formerly DELWP) put a range of options out for community consultation, launching a survey and two information sessions to inform people about the pros and cons of each intervention.

The options ranged from more natural, low-intervention projects like installing matting and native vegetation to protect the dunes, to "major" interventions like a rock berm, a seawall, groynes, breakwaters, and artificial reefs.

There was also the possibility of letting nature take its course, but DEECA found the dunes would potentially recede dozens of metres by 2050 if nothing was done, exposing a significant portion of the buried waste. The department drilled into the area in March 2022 to gauge the extent of the buried rubbish, finding roughly 170,000 cubic metres of waste including asbestos and other toxic material was still hidden beneath the sand.

While nearly 100 people attended DEECA's two information sessions, only 39 people ultimately provided feedback about what to do. Nearly half the respondents were Port Fairy residents, while another 20 per cent lived elsewhere in Moyne Shire and 10 per cent were regular visitors.

Most people said the low-intervention options were at best short term solutions and wouldn't fix the erosion problem, especially in the event of a serious storm.

One respondent said replanting native vegetation was "adequate at the moment to a point but not guaranteed to be storm proof into the future".

But a similar majority were equally negative about the major interventions like rock walls, groynes and offshore breakwaters, saying they would ruin the aesthetic of the beach and potentially just transfer the erosion problem to another section.

Just two out of the 39 people thought a rock wall, groyne or breakwater was a good idea, with one respondent saying a wall would create "'end effects' with seas ripping into the dunes up to 100m plus either side of the hard surface".

The one option that received overwhelming support was digging the waste out of the dunes, with 29 positive responses and just four people against the idea.

While removing the waste would solve the issue of rubbish being uncovered without destroying the aesthetic of East Beach, it wouldn't stop the erosion problem and the removal works would significantly disturb the dune ecosystem. It also happens to be the most expensive option on the table.

DEECA estimated partially removing the buried rubbish would cost up to $51.2 million, while full removal would potentially cost $114.4 million.

A spokesman said DEECA would publish a community impact report in April explaining how the responses had influenced its preferred option for the beach.