Residents can help keep our region clean and safe by reporting illegal dumping.
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This is what you need to know to do it right.
Firstly, does the dumped waste create an emergency such as toxic fumes or a large chemical spill?
If so, call 000 and report it immediately.
If it isn't an emergency but does pose an immediate threat to human health or the environment, such as asbestos or toxic chemicals, call the NSW EPA Environment Line on 131 555.
All other illegal dumping can be reported using the NSW EPA's online reporting tool RIDonline at ridonline.epa.nsw.gov.au.
The EPA website states that when you report illegal dumping, you help the EPA and local council:
- protect human health and the environment
- detect and penalise dumpers
- find and clean up dumped waste
- identify dumping hot spots so we can develop strategies to prevent this behaviour in future in your local area
"The online reporting tool is easy to use," said Jem Hansen, Environmental Consultant, "you just take a photo with your phone, enter the address or let the GPS on your device do that, add a few details about the waste and then submit it."
The EPA also has a reporting tool for littering from vehicles.
The EPA can issue fines of $250 for an individual and $500 for a corporation for littering from a vehicle, based on reports from members of the public.
The fines for tossing a lit cigarette from a vehicle are $450 for an individual and $900 for a corporation.
By reporting littering from motor vehicles to the EPA, members of the public are helping to reduce the burden of cleaning it up.
- Jem Hansen, Environmental Consultant
To report littering from a vehicle you need to have actually seen the litter being thrown or blown from the vehicle, provide the vehicle registration details and the location where the littering took place, and report the incident within 14 days at www.epa.nsw.gov.au/reporttoepa.
