A Wollongong man has been issued three penalty notices, totalling more than $60,000, for allegedly dumping waste tyres within the Macquarie Pass National Park.
Following a report from NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of an illegal dumping hotspot, the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) teamed up with the agency and located more than 2000 waste tyres dumped in the Macquarie Pass National Park.
NSW EPA Director Operations, Adam Gilligan praised the collaborative investigation with NPWS to identify the person of interest.
“After the discovery of more than 2000 waste tyres we began a covert investigation at the site,” said 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.
“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 taking regulatory action.”
NPWS Illawarra Highlands Area Manager, Andrew Wall welcomed the fines issued.
“The offences occurred in heavily wooded bushland that is highly vulnerable to bushfire. 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,” said Mr Wall.
The EPA and NPWS are working to remediate the site and ensure it’s safe. The offender may be required to pay for agency clean-up costs at a later date.
We encourage the community to report suspected illegal dumping activities via the NSW EPA’s Environment Line on 131 555 or by email info@epa.nsw.gov.au.
Image of the Illegally dumped waste tyres found at Macquarie Pass National Park
Contact details:
EPA MEDIA | JULIA BELL | 0427 310 202
24-hour Media Line (02) 9995 6415 media@epa.nsw.gov.au