City Hall wants ratepayers to stop illegally dumping rubbish.

It’s worried people are abusing the free kerbside clean-up by leaving items on the roadside all year round.

Sophie Winter reports.

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The council wanted to know how bad the problem of illegal dumping was, and it’s been shocked.

It’s named 50 hotspots around Brisbane where people are throwing away unwanted items and rubbish, and not using council tips.

Graham Quirk, Lord Mayor: “For those few individuals that think that they can simply throw their rubbish out whenever they want, it won’t be tolerated.”

The illegal dumping of old household items is costing the Council hundreds of thousands of dollars as it tries to keep common dumping sites clean and free of rodents.

It’s also a problem for charities with people leaving a mess outside donation centres.

Roy Frith, Lifeline Manager of Retail Operations Brisbane: “It’s the larger items they try to leave around the bins and get spoiled by being out, which can be donated right and actually taken into our shops. We’ve got 47 shops across Brisbane and they can be donated there.”

Brisbane council has started fining residents who leave unwanted junk on the kerbside.

Brisbane city council and charities are urging residents to use donation bins sensibly and to dispose of their household rubbish at one of the Council’s waste transfer stations.

Information on what should be donated or taken to waste transfer stations is on the Brisbane City Council and Lifeline websites.

Sophie Winter, QUT News.