Shoalhaven rangers deal with up to 600 reports of illegal dumping a year.
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The rangers who investigate these cases are often baffled with what they find.
White goods, such as refrigerators and computers, can be recycled free of charge, and cars can handed in for a small profit at scrap metal dealers.
Recently, someone dumped a large amount of rat poison in a very public area at the Bay and Basin, where there were two council bins within 100m of the dump site, putting pets in serious danger of poisoning.
The rangers are investigating the crime, using tips from the community to track down the dumper, and issue a fine.
At a dumping hotspot in Yerriyong, rangers say it is not uncommon to find up to 20 stolen cars abandoned and burned there each month, putting the land nearby at serious risk of a bushfire.
There’s also a cliff with several cars, old tyres and mattresses that have been dumped 20m below.
Ranger Phil McNeice is employed by the NSW Environmental Protection Authority, focused on preventing these dump sites, rather than cleaning them up.
Mr McNeice works with the Roads and Maritime Services at South Nowra to stop drivers who are carrying a load of waste, enquire about where they are coming from and going to, and follow it up.
He said this has prevented a lot of illegal dumping.
The rangers work with prisoners from corrective services to clean up rubbish that has been dumped across the Shoalhaven.
Over the past three and a half years, corrective services has removed 900 tonnes of waste – the size of 30 fully-grown humpback whales.
“The bush isn’t the tip,” Mr McNeice said.
“We’re not in a position to block it all off or clean it all up.”
A fence has recently been constructed at one of the problem areas in Yerriyong, the southern gravel pit, and that has nipped dumping in the bud there.
There are remote motion activated cameras at the northern gravel pit to catch illegal dumpers.
“The eyes and the ears of the community are our greatest asset,” Mr McNeice said.
“Facebook has been really helpful.”
Recently, a tip via Facebook helped them solve a case involving 150 people, who did not clean up after a party at Kinghorn Point on Boxing Day.
They tracked down four men who ended up cleaning the area and were fined $450 each.
The mobile app, snap, send and solve, has been developed to allow people to send through photos of illegal dumping, and rangers have encouraged residents to download it.