Council is warning residents not to dump items illegally, such as these household items located on a suburban St in Coolum – fines will ensue for those deliberately dumping items that could be taken to a refuse station. Photo: Vanessa Bacon-Hall
BEFORE placing that old household item out on your front verge as a give away, or sneakily off loading excess building waste in the bush, think twice, as Sunshine Coast Council is cracking down on illegal dumping with a Eumundi resident recently fined big bucks for dumping waste in a nature reserve.
The resident was fined $2135 and was issued a compliance notice to clean up waste they had illegally dumped in a nature reserve following an investigation by Sunshine Coast Council’s Illegal Dumping Officers.
Service Excellence Portfolio Councillor Christian Dickson said illegal dumping was taken very seriously and carried significant penalties.
“It was shocking to hear that this resident had gained vehicle access to a restricted track in the nature reserve and then dumped approximately 800 litres of household waste down an embankment,” Cr Dickson said.
“This waste could have been disposed of correctly and simply through council’s household bin collection, so it really was a senseless act.
“The dumped waste contained dangerous plastics and emitted a foul odour that had begun to attract wildlife scavengers which tore bags open, spreading the harmful plastics, risking their health and causing further environmental contamination.
“In this instance, the responsible person has returned to the site and removed the illegally dumped waste as per the compliance notice.”
There are many items that can be recycled or disposed of for free at council’s resource recovery centres including whitegoods, scrap metal, motor vehicle oil, domestic pesticides and chemicals, car batteries, gas bottles, mobile phones and much more.
To view the full list of items that can be recycled or disposed of for free at council’s resource recovery centres visit council’s website – https://www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/Living-and-Community/Waste-and-Recycling/Rubbish-Tip-Locations-and-Fees/Free-Disposal-Items
The maximum penalty for illegally dumping more than 200L but less than 2500L is $53,380, as per the Queensland Government Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011.
To report illegal dumping in the Sunshine Coast area, please visit www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/illegaldumping, email the location and type of waste to mail@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au or phone 5475 7272.