Man fined $60,000 after dumping 2000 tyres in Macquarie Pass National Park

Waste tyres illegally dumped in Macquarie Pass National Park. Photo: EPA.

A Wollongong man who dumped more than 2000 tyres in the Macquarie Pass National Park has been fined $60,000.

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service partnered with the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to investigate reports of an illegal dumping hotspot, resulting in three penalty notices issued to the man.

NSW EPA Director Operations Adam Gilligan praised the collaborative investigation to identify the person of interest.

“After the discovery of more than 2000 waste tyres, we began a covert investigation at the site,” Mr Gilligan said.

“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.

“The offences occurred in heavily wooded bushland that is highly vulnerable to bushfire,” he said.

“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.”

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.

The community is encouraged to report suspected illegal dumping activities via the EPA’s Environment Line on 131 555 or by email to [email protected].