Dump rubbish illegally and expect a fine, Noosa Council has warned.
Council has investigated more than 260 reports of illegal rubbish dumping and more than 30 cases of illegally dumped vegetation in the past eight months.
"For small amounts of rubbish, where there is a lack of evidence to help identify the culprit, Council is left to clean up the mess," says Waste Coordinator Ian Florence.
"But with larger amounts of dumped rubbish, we certainly pursue all possible avenues to track down those responsible," he said.
"Recently we've issued five show cause notices, eight clean-up notices, plus penalty infringement notices amounting to more than $8500.
"Dealing with illegal dumping costs ratepayers. For example, where the amount of dumped waste is significant, we have to call in civil works staff with machinery to remove it before we can attempt to remediate the site and deal with any contamination that may have occurred."
Council uses various tools to catch offenders. These include patrols of known hotspots, following up leads from the public, and the use of carefully placed cameras.
"We have a good track record of catching those people who choose to use our natural areas as their personal rubbish dump," Mr Florence said.
"The cost of doing the right thing and taking your rubbish to the tip is far cheaper than copping a fine for illegal dumping, particularly as fines can run into the thousands of dollars.
"Ironically, many of the items dumped in bushland – such as whitegoods – can actually be recycled for free at Council's Resource Recovery Centre," Mr Florence said.
