Fed-up Aussie dad takes matters into his own hands after ‘junkies’ dumped piles off disgusting rubbish into a local creek: ‘Absolute hero’

An Australian father is being hailed hero for cleaning up a local stormwater creek filled with rubbish, including used syringes, after the mess was left by the council.

A fed-up Joel Carroll spent Friday sorting through the huge piles of trash dumped in Cessnock’s Black Creek, in the NSW Hunter Region, at risk to his own health.

He documented his efforts in a series of posts to social media, which drew praise from dozens in the community and, somewhat ironically, the local mayor.

‘Are we living in a f***ing third world country?’ Mr Carroll said as he filmed the trash in the basin. ‘I can’t drive past this without doing something about it because I don’t want to end up having this s*** run down our river and into the f***ing ocean.’

Mr Carroll spent the day picking through the catchment, which runs through the town’s centre and north until it joins the Hunter River and flows out to sea. 

Among the wild and worrying items he documented were a bottle full of syringes, a muddied sex toy, bags of discarded clothing, a homemade bong and a used condom.

‘The level of rubbish was simply ignored for too long and I couldn’t turn a blind eye,’ Mr Carroll told Daily Mail. 

‘I don’t want this to promote negativity towards the homeless, but people should remember to donate through the right channels because lots of the mess looked like it was donated items that were rifled through and then discarded.’

Viewers of the video were outraged, asking why local representatives had not taken action, while others offered to join his clean-up effort.

‘Mate, I have no words for you, no words for the strength, guts and determination to enter that disgusting f***-ing mosh pit and do something about it’, one woman wrote. 

‘I know the various tent set-ups around town are bad enough but I never realised the stormwater drains were polluted with all this disgusting rubbish to end up in our waterways’, another wrote. 

‘I remember, when as kids, we would use the drains as a safe way to walk to our grans with no need to cross roads, the only hazard was an occasional bottle sometime broken,’ someone else wrote. 

‘This level of rubbish is a disgrace!’

Cessnock Mayor Daniel Watton also commented on the video, praising the local father’s efforts before claiming to have engaged the responsible authority. 

‘Council has referred this to Hunter Water, who are the responsible authority for the creek,’ he wrote. 

‘We’ve requested that the waste be removed and for the site to be monitored regularly going forward.’

The following day, Mr Carroll posted a separate video telling his followers Hunter Water, a state-owned water authority, had cleared the remaining rubbish. 

Grateful residents shared images of the cleaned-up catchment in the days following his efforts – while reminding the local council to stay on top of the issue. 

‘Well done to you Joel Carroll and thank you’, a local woman wrote on a community Facebook page.

‘So many people these days want to protest and carry on about pollution and the environment but sit back and do nothing about it like Cessnock City Council or maybe it’s also the responsibility of Hunter Water Board.

‘This is an absolute disgrace and shame on the council for doing nothing especially as it’s been like it for weeks.

‘Why do the local community bother to pay land rates when this happens where does the money go. All this rubbish is in our waterways causing all kinds of problems.

‘But it’s great to see a local hero like you Joel who didn’t sit back complaining or protesting but took it upon yourself to do something about it you are definitely a champion and full credit and thanks to you.’

Daily Mail contacted Hunter Water and Cessnock City Council for comment.