A brazen dumper at Fairy Meadow was caught in the act, confronted and had their photo taken - but they didn't bother stopping.
A resident in an apartment complex along the Princes Highway said she sprung the dumper, who had pulled up in her car near the complex's skip bin and was throwing things in.
The dumper didn't live there and was ignoring the "no dumping - offenders will be prosecuted" sign right next to the bin.
"On the Friday night my partner and I were just heading out and we witnessed a young girl probably in her early 20s dumping a whole lot of stuff in the communal skip bin," the resident said.
"When I was taking the photos of the vehicle belonging to the people who were dumping the stuff I was quite obvious about it. I wanted them to know that I was aware of it."
What was left behind was an overflowing mess that was soon strewn across the ground and even in the stairwell of the unit complex.
The resident said she had passed on the details - and the photos of the car, where the licence plate is clearly visible - to the strata body and the owner of her unit.
While the incident occured on private property, a Wollongong City Council spokeswoman said it could still be reported to them.
"Council is aware of problems associated with illegal dumping in the Wollongong area," the spokeswoman said.
"We have a dedicated RID [Regional Illegal Dumping] Program Officer to combat the issues associated with illegal dumping in our city. Council investigates reports of illegally dumped rubbish in both public spaces and on private land.
While council does investigate cases of illegal dumping on private property and takes appropriate action against offenders if they are identified, Council does not clean up waste that has been illegally dumped on private property."
The spokeswoman said people who find dumped rubbish should not touch it or remove anything as it could disturb evidence that could point the council in the direction of the dumper.
She said incidents could be reported online at the council website or by calling the customer service team on 4227 7111, during business hours.
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Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
