Illegal waste disposal is sometimes referred to as ‘illegal dumping’. Not all illegally disposed waste has been dumped.
Illegal waste disposal means deliberately dumping, tipping or burying waste on private or public land that’s not licensed to accept it.
It’s against the law to illegally dispose of waste. It causes pollution, impacts our health and threatens wildlife. It costs Victorians around $30 million a year.
Examples of waste that’s often disposed of illegally includes:
- TVs, appliances and electronic waste (e-waste)
- furniture and mattresses
- industrial waste
- construction and demolition materials
- garden waste and soil
- packaging
- old cars
- tyre and chemical waste stockpiles.
You can report illegal waste disposal to EPA or your local council.
Report illegal waste disposal to EPA
You can report illegal waste disposal to EPA by:
- Calling our pollution hotline on 1300 372 842. We’re here 24 hours.
- Submitting a pollution report.
Report illegal waste disposal to your local council
You can report illegal waste disposal to your local council.
Our Officers for the Protection of the Local Environment (OPLEs) are based in some local councils across Victoria. They can help with illegal waste disposal reports.
What else EPA is doing about illegal waste disposal
Our Illegal Waste Disposal Program aims to stop people and businesses illegally disposing of waste.
We work with government, industry and the community to use intelligence and surveillance to target illegal operators. This includes using drones to investigate large-scale dumping across Victoria.
Illegal waste disposal and local councils
EPA is aware that some waste removal contractors may be responsible for recent illegal waste disposal on council land.
Those who dumped the materials may be contracted for waste disposal in near by councils. The materials may have been dumped again in order to receive multiple payments for the same load of waste.
EPA recommends that councils require waste disposal contractors to provide documents to show that waste is transported and disposed of legally.
These are EPA's requirements for prescribed industrial waste (PIW):
- an EPA waste transport permit for each vehicle transporting or moving PIW
- from 1 July 2019, only electronic waste transport certificates can be used to transport PIW. EPA does not provide or accept paper waste transport certificates.
Our Waste Codes publication (IWRG822) shows which materials are prescribed industrial waste.
Construction and demolition wastes don’t generally require waste transport certificates. But, councils can ask for waste receipt dockets to show that the waste was disposed at a landfill, transfer station or waste recovery centre.
Find more information about illegal waste disposal
Read more information about illegal waste disposal for:
Read more about reporting pollution
How to report litter from vehicles
How to report smoky cars and vehicles
How to report smoke in the air
Reviewed 8 June 2022
