Illegal Dumping

Littering

Littering is defined under the Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011 as the deposit of less than 200L in volume.

Common items that are considered as litter include cigarette butts, paper and plastic.

Cigarette butts are only small, but make up more than a third of the total number of items littered. Plastic cigarette filters end up in waterways and can be swallowed by marine animals. Birds and sea creatures mistake cigarette butts for food and will slowly starve to death. Cigarette butts littered from motor vehicles can also start bush fires - costing lives and damaging property.

• Littering Fact Sheet (PDF, 458.2 KB)

Dangerous Littering

Dangerous littering is defined under the Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011 as “depositing waste that causes or is likely to cause harm to a person, property or the environment”.

Examples of dangerous littering include:

• leaving a syringe in a public place other than in a container intended for receiving used syringes
• smashing a bottle and leaving the broken glass on a footpath
• throwing a lit cigarette onto dry grass in extreme fire danger conditions.

Illegal Dumping

Illegal dumping is defined under the Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011 as the unlawful deposit of any type of waste material that is 200 litres or more in volume (which is about the volume of a wheelie bin).

Illegally dumped waste is commonly found along roadsides, and in parklands, beaches, waterways, car parks, vacant blocks of land, and in isolated areas like bushland reserves and national parks.

Common items which are illegally dumped include bags of general household waste, garden waste, building materials, white goods, mattresses, furniture, abandoned vehicles, car parts and tyres.

Illegally dumped items can be a lost resource. Many items that are illegally dumped can be reused or recycled – including organic garden materials, beverage and food containers, white goods, computers, tyres and car bodies.

Impacts of Littering and Illegal Dumping

Littering and illegal dumping of waste imposes substantial costs on society including human health, environmental harm and diversion of money to clean-up activities that could otherwise be spent more productively elsewhere. Additionally, litter and illegal dumping can:

• attract rodents, insects and other vermin and provide an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes.
• block waterways and stormwater drains, increasing the potential for flooding and erosion.
• contain broken glass, syringes, nappies, medical waste and toxic substances like asbestos, and be a potential fire hazard.
• contribute to algae blooms in waterways if it contains organic waste such as food scraps.
• decrease community pride and intensify the problem.
• entice further dumping, as well as other antisocial and illegal activities.
• lead to a build up of waste next to roads that can block gutters.
• spread pests and weeds, including fire ants and lantana, if it contains materials such as soil and garden waste.
• wash or blow into creeks, rivers and onto beaches where it harms and kills wildlife (for example, plastic waste can choke and suffocate birds and marine life).

Queensland Littering Laws and Penalties

Local governments and the Department of Environment and Science (DES) have a shared responsibility for litter and illegal dumping enforcement. Authorised officers from Council and DES can issue fines and notices for litter and illegal dumping offences.

The Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011 includes a range of offences for litter and illegal dumping, including:

• dangerous littering
• failing to clean up waste
• general littering
• illegal dumping
• littering from a vehicle.