A man has been fined $2000 for dumping household waste in bushland in the City of Armadale.
Adam Robert Neil’s vehicle was used to illegally dump the waste in a state forest. He has also been fined for failing to say who was driving his car.
On Monday 24 October 2022, Mr Neil’s Toyota Hilux was caught on a hidden camera being driven into bushland off Ashendon Road in the semi-rural suburb of Leslie. It had a load of household waste in the tray.
When the vehicle was videoed leaving the scene several minutes later, the tray was empty. The waste was found later at the site by inspectors from the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation.
A notice was hand-delivered to Mr Neil’s address in Martin requiring him to identify who was driving his vehicle at the time. Mr Neil failed to respond to the notice.
The 37-year-old entered a plea of guilty at the Armadale Magistrates Court on August 22 and was fined $2,000 for the littering offence, plus $500 for failing to disclose who was driving. He was also ordered to pay costs of $788.30.
During sentencing, Magistrate Tanya Watt said the offence was not a minor case of littering. She said it was compounded by the fact that he refused to respond to the request to identify the person responsible.
DWER Senior Manager of Investigations, Sally Heitman, said there was no excuse for dumping waste illegally.
“It was pointed out in court that local councils provide many opportunities through verge collections to get rid of this kind of waste,” she said.
“Step one should always be to search online for legal and responsible waste disposal solutions, not to just dump rubbish in the bush.”
Illegal dumping should be reported to the department’s Pollution Watch Hotline on 1300 784 782, email pollutionwatch@dwer.wa.gov.au, or call Crimestoppers on 1300 333 000.
