Illegal dumping of waste is a significant and ongoing issue across the Northern Territory and particularly in Alice Springs.
In recent years, reports of illegal dumping in Alice Springs have been increasing.
Understanding the full nature and extent of the illegal dumping "problem" in Alice Springs is challenging. This is because the whole point of illegal dumping is to ensure it goes undetected – dumpers want to make sure their crime is out of sight and out of mind.
Solving the illegal dumping problem in the Alice Springs municipality requires a collaborative all of Government approach to understand the nature and scale of illegal dumping and to change behaviour for improved environmental outcomes.
The strategy
To tackle the illegal dumping problem, Operation: Don't be a dumper (DBAD) has been developed to deliver six key outputs:
Table 1: DBAD outputs
Completed
| Output | Descriptions | Actions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Project Governance. We will establish strong governance with the right stakeholders to ensure success. | A working group was established in March 2024 and brings together Local and Territory Government, Environment Groups, Traditional Owner Corporations and Rangers, Land Councils and Community groups. | Completed |
| 2 | Understand the Nature and Scale of the Problem. We will identify where illegal dumping is occurring and what wastes are being dumped. | Desktop assessment of historical aerial imagery (2011 – 2024) was undertaken between March and June 2024. | Completed |
| 3 | Identify the cause. We will understand what’s causing the problem. | A survey was circulated with Alice Springs residents between 14 January and 24 March 2025 via social media platforms. Key Findings of the survey are still being analysed by officers, please come back soon to see the results. | Completed |
| 4 | Remediate existing dumping. We will target remedial efforts to address areas identified in Output 2. | A community clean-up day was held at the illegal dumping hotspot at the end of Ellery Drive (As identified in Output 2 mapping as “AOI 2”)on 2/3/2025. Further clean-up days around Alice Springs are being planned. Follow the Department Lands Planning and Environment on social media for updates. | Ongoing |
| 5 | Prevention and deterrence. We will prevent and deter future dumping | We are ramping up our surveillance program to catch criminals in the act throughout the bush surrounding Alice Springs. We’re also implementing measures to limit access to illegal dumping hotspots identified in the Output 2 mapping. This action is currently ongoing, check back later for updates. | Ongoing |
| 6 | Monitoring. We will measure and monitor the effectiveness of the strategy to inform continuous improvement |
We analyse all the data coming into the project and have been continually adjusting our strategy to best suit the local conditions. To date this has included boots-on-the-ground field surveys, historical image analysis, aerial drone surveys and analysis of public reports. This action is currently ongoing, check back later for updates. | Ongoing |
Reporting illegal dumping
If you have witnessed illegal dumping and wish to report it for investigation, please contact us via:
- Our online Report Form; or
- the NT EPA pollution hotline: 1800 064 567 (24-hour, free call)
For information on how we will assess your report, please visit the "Report Pollution" webpage.