Illegal dumping is the unlawful deposit of waste larger than litter onto land. It includes waste materials that have been dumped, tipped or otherwise deposited onto private or public land where no licence or approval exists to accept such waste. Illegal dumping varies from small bags of rubbish in an urban environment to larger scale dumping of waste materials in isolated areas, such as bushland.

Illegal dumping includes illegal land filling, which is waste used as fill material with the consent of the owner or occupier of the land but without the necessary Council or Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW) approvals.

Legislation and associated fines

The Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act) provides a tiered range of illegal dumping offence provisions/fines. They are:

Tier 3 - on the spot fines

• $750 on the spot fine for individuals for illegal dumping with a maximum on the spot fine of $1,500
• $1,500 on the spot fines for corporations for illegal dumping with a maximum on the spot fine of $5,000

Tier 2 - use of land as waste facility without lawful authority

• maximum penalty in the case of an individual: $250,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, a further penalty of $60,000 for each day the offence continues
• maximum penalty in the case of a corporation: $1,000,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, a further penalty of $120,000

Tier 1 - disposal of waste - harm to the environment

• maximum penalty in the case of an individual: $1,000,000 and/or seven years' imprisonment
• maximum penalty in the case of a corporation: $5,000,000

What sorts of materials are illegally dumped

• general household rubbish
• larger domestic items (for example mattresses, furniture and whitegoods)
• construction and demolition waste including excavation waste and asbestos
• garden organic material
• chemicals and other hazardous waste
• abandoned vehicles, car parts and shopping trolleys

Environmental costs

• can degrade the land, including degrading plant and animal habitats
• can destroy local bush land, reduce biodiversity value and hinder revegetation
• runoff from dump sites may contaminate soil and water sources, such as lakes, creeks and drinking water supplies
• dumped items can alter the normal drainage course of runoff and make areas more susceptible to flooding and erosion when waste blocks creeks, stormwater drains and gutters
• dumped materials could catch fire either by spontaneous combustion or arson, which can damage property and bushland
• illegally dumped items are a lost resource. Many items can be recycled, particularly garden organic material, beverage containers, fridges, computers, tyres and car bodies

Social costs

• reduces aesthetic amenity and deters people from visiting areas where there is frequent illegal dumping
• dumped items create physical (protruding nails or sharp edges) and chemical (harmful fluids or dust) hazards for anyone who does visit the site
• dump sites attract rodents, insects and other vermin that pose health risks
• thousands of volunteer hours are spent participating in clean up initiatives, such as Clean Up Australia Day, Keep Australia Beautiful and Tidy Towns, at a significant cost to the community’s resources
• dump sites attract further dumping and other criminal activities, such as graffiti and arson, which decrease community pride and further exacerbate the problem

Financial costs

• NSW local governments are estimated to spend around $10 million a year removing and properly cleaning up illegal dumping sites
• disposing of illegally dumped materials and landfilling. For larger councils, these costs can be as high as $400,000 annually
• the community bears the cost of lower property prices because the area is less attractive to prospective commercial and residential landowners

For further information on illegal dumping please visit the Department of Climate Change website.