General News
20 June, 2026
Calls to name dumpers
CALLS to ‘name and shame’ people and to increase fines for those caught illegally dumping waste have been made after another messy site in Innisfail was discovered with household waste strewn over the ground.
The location at Old Ferry Road, Sundown, was posted on social media with pictures from unidentified persons using nickname accounts, unhappy at the illegal dumping action.
“Sometime yesterday, some filthy grubs left this nice little mess on a headland,” the person commented.
“Unfortunately for you, you left the name on your kids prescription medicine, so will contact police link tomorrow,” the poster said.
“Absolutely disgusting,” another Facebook user responded.
Another commented: “This is disgusting and totally unacceptable, whoever did this should be ashamed of themselves and pay a hefty price for their thoughtless actions, especially with hazardous waste like batteries and gas canisters.”
Others commented about the costs of dumping at council transfer stations.
“Under no circumstances do I condone this unacceptable behaviour, but I had to do a dump run a couple of weekends ago,” was another response.
“I had a mattress and just dry household rubbish. Cost was $42.
“I said to my partner that there is going to be a lot of illegal dumping starting to happen.”
The dumping follows public reporting earlier this year of a stack of whitegoods and other similar household rubbish found outside an old scrap metal yard at nearby Goondi.
In a statement, council said there were several measures in place to try to prevent illegal dumping and that “we want to make it as easy as possible for residents to do the right thing”.
“People can take a range of items to waste transfer stations for free, such as various metals, certain whitegoods like washing machines, car batteries, paint, engine oil and green waste.
“From 1 July 2026, people can also dispose of TVs and other electronic waste for free.
“We have a surveillance program in place at known hot spots to monitor illegal dumping and help reduce litter and waste across the Cassowary Coast.
“Fines for illegal dumping are set under Queensland legislation and vary depending on the type of offence, location and whether it is committed by an individual or business.
“We do not have the authority to increase these fine amounts.
“We’ve issued over $4000 worth of littering and illegal dumping fines over the past 12 months.
“While issuing fines as an enforcement measure is important, we prefer to educate individuals and the wider community.
“We encourage the community to report illegal dumping via our website.”
Council also said it will have “more to say” soon about two free waste vouchers per year it plans to provide in rates notices from 1 July, to support residents in helping prepare for the wet season and with clean-ups generally.
Read More: Cassowary Coast