The waste tyres dumped in Macquarie Pass National Park. Picture: NSW EPA
A Wollongong man has been fined more than $60,000 over more than 2000 waste tyres found dumped in NSW’s Macquarie Pass National Park.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) said they were alerted to a dumping hotspot by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).
NSW EPA Director Operations Adam Gilligan praised the collaborative investigation between the two agencies to identify the person involved.
“After the discovery of more than 2000 waste tyres we began a covert investigation at the site,” says Mr Gilligan.
“Together with NPWS we installed five covert cameras around the site capturing an individual arriving in a vehicle, parking directly above a small entry to the bushland and rolling several tyres down the embankment.
“We found evidence the individual visited the national park on multiple occasions across an extended period and dumped tyres,” Mr Gilligan says.
“Illegal dumping is a selfish act, and it poses serious potential threats to our environment and surrounding wildlife.
“This deliberate, criminal behaviour will not be tolerated, and we won’t hesitate to take regulatory action,” he says.
The man was issued with three penalty notices, according to the EPA.
The NPWS Illawarra Highlands Area Manager, Andrew Wall welcomed news of the fines.
“The offences occurred in heavily wooded bushland that is highly vulnerable to bushfire,” he says.
“Given the location and amount of waste tyres, we are pleased to have supported the EPA in identifying and stopping the incident right at the source,” says Mr Wall.
The EPA and NPWS are working to remediate the site and ensure it is safe.
The offender may be required to pay for agency clean-up costs at a later date, according to the EPA.
They are encouraging the NSW community to report suspected illegal dumping activities via the NSW EPA’s Environment Line on 131 555 or by email to [email protected].
