Illegal dumping creates problems with safety, the appearance of the neighbourhood, property values and quality of life. In Randwick, most illegally dumped material is from households, including unwanted mattresses, sofas, bric-a-brac, appliances and bags of garden clippings. Last year, 8871 illegal-dumping incidents occurred in the Randwick City Council area alone. We have established a special patrol for illegal dumpers, and you can help as well.

• Dumping is illegal and offenders can be fined up to $750.
• Unwanted household material can be put out for collection at Council clean-ups.
• Residents can call Council for information on collection services.
• Residents can take the material to the nearest waste centre

Randwick City Council provides residents with two free scheduled clean-up services and two free on-call clean-ups per year.

Offenders can be fined

Where the person who dumped the rubbish can be identified, Council may issue a warning or penalty notice, or proceed to prosecution.

A Randwick City Council 'Spotter' patrols the area on a daily basis, identifying illegal dumps. They assess whether there is sufficient urgency and evidence to warrant further investigation. All this information is entered into a specifically designed, electronic database. While known 'hotspots' are patrolled daily, other locations are surveyed is at least once a week.

Where dumped material does not warrant further investigation, the database allocates it to Waste Operations for removal. Their objective is to clean up all illegal dumping, marked by the database for removal, within two days.

Where illegally dumped material has been earmarked for further investigation, the Council Rangers then decide whether to prosecute. There are heavy penalties for illegal dumping as prescribed in the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997.

How can you help?

You can help control illegal dumping in the neighbourhood by promoting the use of the Council's scheduled and on-call clean-up services.

You can also combat illegal dumping by contacting us. Please let us know:

• Street location of illegal dumping
• Types of dumped materials, including whether you believe it constitutes a hazard.

If you can also provide the following information, or a photo of the incident, this may assist in prosecution of the dumper.

• Date and time of dumping
• Name and address of person(s) responsible
• Associated vehicle registration number(s).