What is illegal dumping?
Illegal dumping of waste is an environmental crime that is ongoing and a highly visible problem in NSW. It is the unlawful deposit of waste larger than litter onto land or into water. It includes waste materials that have been dumped, tipped or otherwise deposited onto 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 landfilling, which is waste used as fill material with the consent of the owner or occupier of the land but without the necessary council or Environment Protection Authority (EPA) approvals.
Illegal dumping at charitable recyclers
Council is working with charities to combat illegal dumping within our local government area at their stores. Donating quality items to charities benefits the community through their charitable works, it also reduces the waste going to our landfill by providing the item with a second life. Dumping of items that are soiled, stained or broken costs our charities more than 180 hours of volunteers' time per week to sort through what has been left to find items that may be re-purposed. Items that cannot be repurposed go to the landfill.The dumping problem shouldn’t discourage genuine donators. Always ask yourself before donating, would you or someone you know buy this? Or if you have questions as to whether a charity can accept the item, call them.