The worst suburbs for illegal dumping complaints have been listed, as council reveals it rolled out more cameras across Brisbane using AI technology to catch offenders.
Illegal dumping costs the city about half a million dollars each year, and on Tuesday it emerged there had been a more than three-fold increase in complaints over the past 12 months.
About 830 complaints were recorded to the end of May, with more than $525,000 in fines issued over that period.
“We are taking a zero-tolerance approach to dump dodgers,” customer services chair Sarah Hutton told the council chamber on Tuesday.
“We’re cracking down on those people who think they can turn our city into a dumping ground.”
CCTV footage released on Tuesday showed multiple people dumping white goods, beds, mattresses and other materials on the side of Brisbane roads.
Moorooka, Sunnybank Hills, New Farm, Coorparoo and Forest Lake were listed as the suburbs with the most illegal dumping complaints throughout 2026.
Mount Coot-tha (318), Mount Gravatt (125), Richlands (49) and Bald Hills (45) had the highest number of infringement notices and warnings issued during that time.
More than 200 motion-activated CCTV cameras across the city use AI to detect vehicles, number plates, people, and dumped objects and forward this information to council crews.
About 25 additional cameras were installed in 2026.
New signs have also been erected in dumping hotspots, with messages in English, Arabic, simplified and traditional Chinese, Hindi and Vietnamese.
The Labor opposition said the figures highlighted a discrepancy between how the inner city and outer suburbs were treated.
“Council is receiving hundreds of thousands in infringements, yet how many ratepayers would say our streets are getting cleaner?” leader Jared Cassidy said.
“The LNP’s own data reflects that the outer suburbs are once again most affected.
“Council needs to step up this budget and make it affordable and accessible for everyone to properly dispose of rubbish.”
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