This week, the council fined an individual $400 for illegally dumping domestic rubbish in Mount Trotter Rd, 8km west of Palmerston.
Council senior compliance officer Tristan Hope said residents in the area had noticed the rubbish and took down the registration of an unfamiliar car.
Although it led to a dead end, council contractors were able to identify the culprit with clues gathered from the rubbish.
Mr Hope said it was usual for contractors to look through rubbish for labels and old receipts.
In the Mount Trotter Rd case, most of these had been removed, excluding one label that had the culprit’s name and address on it.
Once tracked down, the person responsible admitted what they had done, and because their rubbish contained broken glass and bottles, which was considered "dangerous litter", they were fined $400.
Although the recording of a registration did not help track down the culprit in this case, this type of vigilance assisted the council in finding the person responsible for illegal dumping in Kakanui Beach Reserve last October.
Mr Hope said a person was seen dumping broken wood pallets in the reserve and the vehicle registration was recorded by a member of the public.
"There are people out in the community looking out for this kind of thing," he said.
He said it was particularly disappointing because there had been community beach clean-ups in the area at the time.
"One minute you’ve got people tidying the beach and the next minute you’ve got these guys dumping on it."
Mr Hope said there were plenty alternatives to dumping waste, such as recycling.
"A lot of the things that [we] find in illegal dumping can be recycled."
It just took a bit of effort to familiarise oneself with which items were recyclable and where they could be disposed of, he said.
"Yes, there is a cost associated with the disposal of rubbish, but it’s a cost that everyone in the community has to pay and it’s far more expensive if you get issued with a $400 infringement."
In addition, if the dumping was bad enough, it could result in prosecution, he said.
