LAKE Macquarie City Council has delivered on its promise to crack down on illegal dumping, fining one offender $1500 after linking him to material found at a dumping site off Wyee Road.
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A council spokesperson said the offender was identified through evidence at the site, and admitted it at interview.
His fine was issued for the transport of waste of more than one cubic metre.
"It is important to note that the offender was only linked to one pile of waste; there are numerous other waste piles at the site for which no offender has yet been identified," the spokesperson said.
Penalties for the illegal disposal of asbestos range from $1500 to $125,000 for an individual.
For a corporation, the penalties range from $5000 to $1 million.
Lake Macquarie City Council is one of 10 councils in the region to join forces with the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to create the Hunter-Central Coast Regional Illegal Dumping (RID) Squad.
The state government-funded squad will be a co-operative body across the councils that, with the help of the EPA, will investigate and clean up illegal dumping, introduce prevention measures at dumping hot spots, and run information campaigns.
The council spokesperson said council rangers involved in the Wyee Road investigation will join the RID squad.
