Inner West Council reveal illegal dumping has risen drastically since the implementation of FOGO

A Sydney council has revealed its illegal dumping problem has hit new highs compared to previous years since it changed to fortnightly garbage collection. See the details here.

Dumped rubbish in Sydney’s Inner West which was removed after being reported through Snap Send Solve.

A Sydney council is looking to shake things up as illegal dumping cases continue to skyrocket following the implementation of its controversial recycling strategy a year ago.

According to council documents, the Inner West Council has seen 12,755 illegal dumping reports fromJuly 2023 to May 31 2024 – significantly higher than the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) figures that show 12,314 reports of illegal dumping across multiple councils last financial year.

According to council, since switching to FOGO – a recycling method that pushes all food scraps to the green bins – reports of illegal dumping have risen by nearly 2000 cases, stating the new “change to fortnightly garbage” collection as a main problem.

The recent rise of illegal dumping has sparked debate on how council can improve its strategy to handle the issue, with ideas including updating its community educational strategy.

Currently, fines for illegal dumping range from $1000 to $2m and seven years imprisonment for an individual, or from $5000 to $10m for a corporation.

A view of Knight Lane in Erskineville where bins sit waiting to be emptied.

The make-up of illegal dumping in the Inner West is generally smaller scale household items that can be identified and collected using the ‘clean-up system’, which is the most popular method used within the council.

However, council is now looking to introduce four waste inspectors dedicated to investigation and enforcement of illegal dumping.

The roles will focus on education, raising awareness around the booked clean-up service.

Illegal dumping has risen dramatically in Sydney’s Inner West.

On top of this, the Inner West has secured a $60,000 NSW EPA grant for an illegal dumping project using surveillance in known dump hotspots.

The project will involve a mobile surveillance camera positioned at known hotspots such as along railway lines where residential surveillance is limited and vehicles are known to stop and dump materials.

Previously, Environment Minister Penny Sharpe has stated illegal dumping is one of NSW’s most “significant and persistent problems”, with councils haemorrhaging ratepayer funds of upwards of $300m a year in collection.

Following the recent figures and complaints from local councils, NSW parliament passed the Environment Protection Legislation Amendment act on April 3, which can now see illegal dumpers fined up to $2m and seven years imprisonment.

Inner West council were contacted for comment.