Byron Shire cafe fined $30,000 for illegally dumping thousands of coffee cups

A Byron Shire hinterland cafe has been fined $30,000 for illegally dumping thousands of coffee cups, according to council. Here’s what we know.

The cafe illegally dumped thousands of coffee cups in the Byron Hinterland. Picture: File

A Byron Shire hinterland cafe has been fined $30,000 for illegally disposing of thousands of coffee cups, according to council.

Byron Shire Council staff inspected a property several times and found cups dumped in an excavated site following a public complaint last year.

The cafe was trying to avoid sending waste to landfill, but essentially just created its own dumping site, the council states.

The council has not named the business.

Sarah Nagel, the council’s manager (of) public and environmental, said the company tried to avoid sending waste to landfill.

But the way the cups were disposed of meant the business essentially created its own landfill site on an unsuitable property.

Thousands of coffee cups were dumped. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Andrew Henshaw

“This is a cautionary tale for all businesses who use packaging and generate waste. Waste disposal is a serious business that is managed by councils,” she said.

“There are severe environmental impacts if it’s not done correctly and this is one of the key reasons councils are responsible for waste disposal.”

The council issued four penalty notices for multiple environmental offences including development without consent, pollution of land, unlawfully using land as a waste facility and transporting waste to an unlawful facility.

The matters were due to go before a local court, but penalties were paid. Picture: Savannah Pocock

The matters were scheduled to go before a local court in early March, but penalty notices were paid before legal proceedings began.

The state government recently introduced a bill to strengthen penalties and bolster the Environmental Protection Authority's (EPA) power to deal with illegal dumping offenders.

Anyone with information about illegal dumping in the shire should visit the council’s website for reporting information.