PILES of waste tyres have again become part of the landscape due to the longstanding problem of illegal dumping to avoid tip fees.

Chair of the Council's Finance and Governance Committee, Paul Tully, says the local authority regularly receives reports of old tyres being dumped on road reserves and bushland.

“It is not always easy to catch offenders in the act or to track them down afterwards, so we rely on witnesses and property owners to report any incidents.”

If council successfully identifies someone who has illegally dumped tyres, a compliance notice is issued under the Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011, directing the offender to remove the items.

“They will also receive a penalty infringement notice for the offence and if the offender fails to clean up the illegal dumping they may receive a second infringement for failing to comply with the notice,” Cr Tully said.

But if the offender isn't found, the responsibility for removing the waste falls on the landowner.

“Depending on the location, this could be either council, the state government on state-managed roads or land, or the respective owners of company or private property.”

Division 4 Councillor Jim Madden said there had been a marked increase in reports of illegally dumped tyres in rural Ipswich.

“Council’s litter and dumping officers have been conducting proactive patrols to tackle this problem,” he said.

“While tyres may be stored on private property, large numbers present a problem.

“Council’s development compliance officers regularly work with landowners who are storing tyres on their properties to ensure all appropriate approvals are in place.”

Council’s two Recycling and Refuse centres in Riverview and Rosewood accept tyres for recycling, at a fee per tyre ranging from $2.50 to $23.80.