Illegal dumping case study – Waverley Council
Goal
Educational material produced by council and distributed by real estate agents to new tenants.
Focus on increasing tenants’ awareness of illegal dumping laws and penalties to reduce the problem of illegal dumping around multi-unit dwellings, particularly dumping associated with short term tenants.
Actions
- Developed a tenant information package which could be distributed to new tenants by real estate agents when they negotiate rental tenancy agreements.
- Designed and used ‘Illegal dumping tape’ to highlight to the community that the waste is under investigation and the offender may be prosecuted.
- Erected deterrent signs outside multi-unit dwellings within 14 hotspots.
Top tips
- Educational materials need to appeal to the targeted audience, providing the right information at the right time. Providing clear information to new tenants removed the excuse of not knowing that dumping is illegal.
- Messaging needs to be consistent and followed through, e.g. with penalties.
- Collaboration with real estate agents, tenants’ organisations, Department of Fair Trading, Resource NSW (now the NSW Environment Protection Authority), Sydney Water, Trolley Tracker and various council departments made distribution of the educational material easy.
- In 38% of the illegal dumping incidents investigated, the offenders were identified, clean-up notices were issued, and rubbish was removed at the offenders' expense.