Hunter Shaun Verrall in court for dumping illegal waste at charity

A young Ipswich dad and Ipswich City Council went head-to-head in court after he refused to pay a fine for dumping unwanted furniture at a charity shop.

A young Ipswich dad caught dumping furniture at a charity shop told a court he thought he was doing the right thing and helping out the community.

Instead, Hunter Shaun Verrall’s illegal act on March 9, 2021, triggered a chain of expensive events which involved the local council and the Department of Environment and Science.

Representing himself, Verrall said after hearing his mother-in-law intended to throw away a blue three seater lounge and table he thought it would be better to donate them.

The court heard when Verrall arrived at the St Vincent de Paul charity shop on Brisbane Rd, Ipswich, he did not see signs warning the public not to dump items and that penalties would be imposed.

Verrall and his car were caught on CCTV.

An employee from the shop told the court the couch and table were not in good condition and the charity had to bear the disposal costs.

The same employee reported the incident to the Department of Environment and Science which triggered an Ipswich City Council investigation and resulted in a $2k fine being issued to the 22-year-old.

The bricklayer refused to pay the fine landing him before the Ipswich Magistrate for a hearing on Thursday, March 10, where he continued to contest the matter by pleading not guilty.

Hunter Shaun Verrall.

Ipswich City Council solicitor Simon Ward noted illegal dumping was an issue many charities faced and upon instruction from Ipswich St Vincent de Paul witness, large items were more difficult for the usually elderly volunteers to safely dispose of.

Verrall said he thought the items had value and that he was doing the right thing.

“I have always done the right thing, if I knew it wasn’t it never would have occurred,” he said.

Verralls’ line of defence was his honest and reasonable mistake of facts.

The father-of-one said before dumping the furniture he had Googled local charity donation points and read St Vincent de Paul was one.

Verrall was found guilty of illegally dumping waste at a place.

Magistrate Kinsella said he would impose a sentence that was perhaps “too light and too fair”, and noted it wasn’t a typical case of illegal dumping.

Verrall was fined $2500, and ordered to pay the ICC $1500.

No conviction was recorded.