Dumping & Littering

What is illegal dumping?

Illegal dumping is any placement of waste material on the Council nature strip, or other public land. It is a practice that pollutes the environment, poses a safety risk to the community and detracts from the general appearance of the street.

A person who dumps rubbish on private land or in a public place is guilty of an offence under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act. This offence carries a maximum penalty of $750 for individuals and $1500 for corporations.

Council is a member of the Regional Illegal Dumping (RID) Squad which is an organisation of authorised officers formed specifically to target illegal dumping in Western Sydney. Being a member of the squad means that Council has an Illegal Dumping Officer who is dedicated solely to the investigation and resolution of dumping incidents within our community.

The only time it is acceptable to place unwanted items on the Council nature strip is during an allocated Council Clean Up. To find out when your next Council clean up is scheduled, contact Council on 9840 9840.

If you require assistance with removal of material in between your allocated clean ups you can book in an additional clean up service with Council by completing the Additional Clean Up form and paying the relevant fee (as indicated on the form).

Council encourages all members of the community to report any cases of illegal dumping, even if you dont see the dumping take place we can still investigate it! If however you are able to gather any evidence to help us identify the offenders such as car description/ registration, name and address, date and time of dumping etc. it would greatly assist our investigations.

To report an illegal dumping offence is easy. Simply contact the Western Sydney RID Squad on 4732 7446 or Council on 9840 9840.

For more information about illegal dumping download our Illegal Dumping Brochure.

What is littering?

A person who deposits litter is also guilty of an offence. Litter includes glass, metal, cigarette butts, paper and other materials that make the place where they are deposited disorderly or detrimentally affects the proper use of that place.

There is a special offence termed aggravated littering. This applies where littering causes or contributes to appreciable danger or harm to persons, animals, premises or property. The maximum penalty for corporations is $5500 and for individuals $3300. Alternatively an on-the-spot penalty infringement notice carrying a penalty of $750 for an individual or $1500 for a corporation may be issued if the circumstances permit.

The penalties carried by on-the-spot penalty infringement notices are also graded so that on-the-spot fines can be issued for:

• Littering with a small item ($60)
• Littering with lit or unlit cigarette butts ($200 for lit cigarettes and $60 for unlit cigarettes)
• Aggravated littering ($750 for and individual and $1500 for a corporation)
• General littering and littering from a vehicle ($400 for corporations and $200 for individuals)