Dumping rubbish is illegal

Council aims to respond to illegal dumped rubbish within 5 business days, however when experiencing periods of high demand response times may be longer. Priority will be given to hazardous or dangerous dumping, such as broken glass, syringes, etc.

Dumping rubbish and littering is a serious offence and heavy fines may be issued to offenders under the EPA Act and Merri-bek City Council’s Local Laws

On-the-spot fines for littering or dumping are $363.  If the matter is prosecuted in court, this can reach $4000 for individuals and up to $18,000 for businesses.

The dumping of litter and waste on the footpath or other public land including in reserves and parks or on private land is illegal.

Council investigates all incidents of dumping and may proceed with enforcement action if council deems a person or business has dumped rubbish.

You can also find more information about dumped rubbish on our website here.

If you have any questions about the status of your request, please give us a call: 9240 1111

Report illegally dumped rubbish

Report dumped rubbish through the Council website or contact Council.

Report dumped rubbish

Any information can assist Council to carry out a formal investigation and stop repeat offenders from dumping rubbish in Merri-bek.

If you saw the rubbish being dumped, please provide information such as the vehicle registration, make and model of the vehicle, time and place of the offence, description of the litter, and who the offence was committed by (driver or passenger). You need to be willing to appear as a witness in court if required.

Report littering from motor vehicles to the EPA and they can issue an infringement notice to litterers.

See how to report an abandoned shopping trolley.

What happens after you report illegally dumped rubbish

Council aims to respond to illegal dumped rubbish within 5 business days, however when experiencing periods of high demand response times may be longer.

Council investigates all incidents of dumping and may proceed with enforcement action if council deems a person or business has dumped rubbish.

In some cases, reported rubbish may remain in place a little longer for council to complete its investigation.

You can find out more about how to pay a dumped rubbish fine on our Local law and animal fines page.

Ways to dispose of rubbish legally

The most commonly dumped items in Merri-bek are household rubbish, furniture, mattresses, green waste, computers, and televisions. Sometimes dangerous goods and hazardous waste are dumped.

Ways to reuse, recycle or responsibly dispose of items are outlined on our A-Z guide to waste and recycling page.

For household waste, we run 2 hard waste collections each year. You can find out more about these on our Hard waste collection page. There are also recycling centres and landfills (rubbish tips) close to Merri-bek, which you can find out about on our Waste and recycling locations page.

For garden waste, you can order a food and garden organics bin from Council. You can find out more about this on our Food and garden organics bins page.

You can find out how to dispose of hazardous waste on our Detox your home page.

You can find a list of charities that collect donations from your home on our Reducing waste page.

We hear you Merri-bekers! Dumped rubbish is the number one thing you complain to us about. We hate it too.