Report Illegal Dumping
What is illegal dumping?
Illegal rubbish dumping is any rubbish left on public property.
It can be:
- large items (e.g. a fridge or couch)
- items amounting to more than two black rubbish bags.
- dead animals, greenwaste
- biohazards eg chemical or waste
- large amounts of home renovation debris
What is Litter?
The Act defines litter as 'any refuse, rubbish, animal remains, glass, metal, garbage, debris, dirt, filth, rubble, ballast, stones, earth or waste matter, or any other thing of a like nature.
It can be:
- Small items (e.g. bottles, cigarette butts, takeaway containers)
- Bags of rubbish (less than 2 black rubbish bags)
- Small amounts of building materials (e.g. items that have fallen off the back of a vehicle)
You should know: We do not remove dumped rubbish on private property. The owner of the property is responsible for the disposal of rubbish dumped on their property.
What you can do about illegally dumped rubbish
If you see dumped rubbish on public property, such as Council reserves use our illegal dumping form. Include a detailed description if you saw it happening.
If the illegally dumped rubbish is hazardous and needs urgent attention, call us on 03 440 0056 (24 hours, seven days).
What information you need to provide
Helpful information includes:
- registration number of the offender's vehicle
- description of the offender's vehicle
- location, date and time
- description of the rubbish
- whether the rubbish is obstructing the road, causing danger to people, or contains hazardous material such as chemicals, oil or LPG
- description of the offender.
What we do about illegally dumped rubbish
Council now has in place tools to penalise offenders who litter in our district and which will see a safer and healthier environment for our community.
We will investigate claims of illegally dumped rubbish and try to identify the offender.
Council's Litter offences and infringement system
Following the Litter Act 1979, Central Otago District Council now implements litter offences and littering fines up to $400.
Infringement Offences and Fee Structure
Infringement Offence | Infringement Description | Infringement Fee |
---|---|---|
Deposits any litter in or on any public place or on any private land without the consent of its occupier. | Deposits litter of less than 1 litre | $100 |
Deposits litter of 1 litre to less than 30 litres | $200 | |
Deposits litter of 30 litres to 60 litres | $300 | |
Deposits litter of more than 60 litres; or Deposits garden waste; or Deposits building materials or furniture. | $400 | |
Having deposited any litter (whether inadvertently or otherwise) in or on any public place or on any private land without the consent of its occupier, and leaves the litter there. | Deposits litter of less than 1 litre | $100 |
Deposits litter of 1 litre to less than 30 litres | $200 | |
Deposits litter of 30 litres to 60 litres | $300 | |
Deposits litter of more than 60 litres; or Deposits garden waste; or Deposits building materials or furniture. | $400 |