Gold Coast City Council is ramping up its efforts to eliminate illegal dumping with a dedicated team of officers deploying covert cameras across the municipality.
“For obvious reasons, we won’t say where these cameras are but anyone planning on dumping rubbish, furniture, building materials, tyres or any other items is on notice: you will be caught and can be fined or prosecuted,’’ said Mayor, Tom Tate.
“The cameras can operate in extremely low light and record activities as well as vehicle registration numbers, to assist with investigations.”
The cameras are regularly relocated to maximise opportunities to identify illegal dumping occurrences.
“Illegal dumping costs ratepayers around $7 million annually. It is a blight on our city and offenders can be fined or prosecuted,” the Mayor said.
Council has established a four-person team within the City’s Health and Regulatory Services branch to investigate illegal dumping. Surveillance is being conducted 24-hours a day, seven days a week, said Mayor Tate.
The Council’s investigations have led to 384 fines being issued since November 2019.
The fines for illegal dumping range from $2,300 for individuals to $10,781 for offending businesses.
The 2022-23 City budget includes a $10 annual levy for ratepayers ($5 per rate notice period).
“This allows everyone to dispose of their non-commercial waste at our City landfill and transfer sites, free of charge. This fee is invested directly into recycling education campaigns,” said Mayor Tate.
“In every sense, there is no reason for anyone to illegally dump waste in our city.’’
