MORE that $516,000 of fines were issued to illegal dumpers in Logan last year.
In that same period, reports of illegal dumping increased by 112%, a sign that more people are willing to call neighbours out when they do the wrong thing.
Logan City council says its illegal dumping “taskforce” was a key player when clamping down on dumping.
Mayor Jon Raven says 45% of dumped waste had been cleaned up by the offenders, which would previously have cost council about $579,000 in clean-up costs.
The state government is helping subsidise the taskforce’s mission.
And any revenue arising from fining illegal dumpers is being re-invested into the taskforce to support continued delivery of enforcement, a council spokesperson said.
Nevertheless, according to the heft of fines, the issue remains rampant throughout the city.
While a “big impact” had been made, Cr Raven said more work was needed to fight illegal dumping.
“We love our city and none of us want to see it polluted by the actions of a lazy few,” he said.
“But it is unfair for our ratepayers to be continually forking out for the removal of other people’s rubbish.”
Local councillor Teresa Lane started a “dob in a dumper” campaign in 2021 using money from her own pocket.
At the time, she said she was tired of her division – Kingston, Logan Central, Woodridge and parts of Underwood – being known as one of Logan’s dirtier parts of town.
So she printed flyers encouraging residents to “dob in” anyone leaving garbage on the kerbside.
“Did you know that each year council spends more than $450,000 on picking up illegally-dumped household items and rubbish from our footpaths, parks and vacant land?” she said in the flyer delivered to households at the time.
“Just a few weeks after the last kerbside collection, our streets are again littered with lounges and other household items.
“It’s time we worked together to stop this behaviour from continuing.”
A year later, Logan’s illegal dumping taskforce to intercept offenders and deter illegal dumping was made permanent.
Council’s approach involves monitoring the city’s CCTV network and encouraging residents to report offenders.
Last week, it received a $90,000 boost from the Queensland government, which council said would be used to employ more compliance officers “to help identify illegal dumping and take swift action against it”.
“The Queensland government is backing our illegal dumping crusade because they can see our efforts are stopping offenders in their tracks,” Cr Raven said.
“This extra support will ensure our Taskforce continues to catch a broader range of dumping offenders and hold them accountable.”
To date, the state government has paid more than $354,000 to fund the taskforce.
Illegal dumping can be reported at logan.qld.gov.au/illegal-dumping or by calling 3412 3412.
