THOUSANDS of dollars worth of fines are being issued by council after several locals were caught illegally dumping goods, just weeks after the last bulky goods collection.
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The items rejected in Tamworth Regional Council's collection, which wrapped up at the end of June, have been discovered abandoned in the wrong spot.
Several suspects, who have been dobbed in or caught out, now face a $2000 fine for illegal dumping, after they were caught on camera.
"After the last bulky goods collection, several instances of rejected items being dumped by people has been caught on surveillance cameras," TRC compliance team leader Brendan Woods said.
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"Any items rejected for collection are labelled with a sticker, and the address the item is rejected at is sent a letter explaining the way to legally and easily dispose of them."
One Tamworth resident is now about $1990 worse off, after they were fined for illegally dumping waste that would have cost just $11 to get rid of at the tip.
Mr Woods said penalties of $2000 each are being slapped on the offenders. These fines can be issued on-the-spot or after an investigation.
"Dumping is dumb, and anyone illegally dumping rubbish should be ashamed of themselves," Mr Woods said.
Locals who go about getting rid of asbestos the wrong way could face an $8000 on-the-spot fine, while for businesses, it could rocket into the millions, according to Mr Woods.
Mr Woods said levels of illegal dumping have remained fairly constant, and generally tend to drop after a curbside clean-up. But he said it does raise the issue of people dumping duds they don't want, that council rejected in the bulky goods collection.
"With the most commonly dumped items being free to dispose of, there is no excuse for illegal dumping," he said.
"In fact, dumping illegally is generally more effort than doing things legally."
Mr Wood said in 2019, more than $60,000 was spent on cleaning up illegally dumped waste in Tamworth.
The most common culprits included tyres, fridges, general household waste (not bulky), asbestos, and demolition and garden waste.
TRC monitors 'hotspots' closely with both secret and plain-to-see surveillance cameras, and relies heavily on members of the community to report illegal dumping when they see it.
"It makes no sense to dump waste, and dedicated rangers and compliance staff will investigate every case reported to council and enforce compliance action on offenders that can be prosecuted," Mr Woods said.
"Significant environmental damage can also occur from illegal dumping, especially with garden waste spreading invasive weeds, and fires being started by glass in the dumped waste or by offenders burning the rubbish dumped in bushland."
Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald. Email: afalkenmire@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald. Email: afalkenmire@austcommunitymedia.com.au
