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Roads

Roadways

This waste pollution may result from:

  1. people littering from car windows, or leaving waste at rest areas
  2. improperly secured items falling from utes, cars and trucks
  3. debris from car accidents
  4. rubber from tyre blow-outs
  5. people dumping household items by the road, such as green waste, general waste, mattresses, furniture and white goods
  6. people discarding cigarette butts, water bottles, packaging and other rubbish while walking
  7. residents leaving household items on the kerbside not during council pickups
  8. bins being knocked over by rubbish trucks, cars, wind or animals
  9. poorly delivered junk mail
  10. people throwing food waste on the ground
  11. waste carried by stormwater.

In 2018, the Queensland Government studied littering and illegal dumping along Gillies Range Road near Cairns. Waste material was found on roads, in pullover facilities and in the World Heritage-listed forest adjoining the road. Types of items found included whitegoods, cars, tyres, mattresses, plastic buckets, cardboard, metal drums and general waste (including a large numbers of drink containers).

Another study compiled a significant dataset of littering and dumping activity in South West Queensland’s Darling Downs and Surat Basin areas. The study found 27 litter types and more than 4000 individual items. Food and drink-related products were the most common items, followed by vehicle items (car seats, mirrors etc.) and cigarettes. The dominant material type was plastic, followed by glass.

Roads waste moves through the environment via four pathways:

Air
Water
Mechanical
Biological
  1. Littering from car windows
  2. Improperly secured items transported in utes, cars and trucks
  3. Debris from car accidents
  4. Tyre blow outs
  5. Dumping of household items (green waste, general waste, mattresses/furniture and white goods)
  6. Littering cigarette butts, water bottles, packaging and other items while walking
  7. Items left on kerbside (not during council pickups)
  8. Bins knocked over
  9. Poor delivery of junk mail
  10. Food waste thrown on the ground
  11. Stormwater

Management Interventions suitable for roadways include:

Rural

This waste pollution may result from:

  1. people littering from car windows, or leaving waste at rest areas
  2. improperly secured items falling from utes, cars and trucks
  3. debris from car accidents
  4. rubber from tyre blow-outs
  5. people dumping household items by the road, such as green waste, general waste, mattresses, furniture and white goods
  6. people discarding cigarette butts, water bottles, packaging and other rubbish while walking
  7. residents leaving household items on the kerbside not during council pickups
  8. bins being knocked over by rubbish trucks, cars, wind or animals
  9. poorly delivered junk mail
  10. people throwing food waste on the ground
  11. waste carried by stormwater.

In 2018, the Queensland Government studied littering and illegal dumping along Gillies Range Road near Cairns. Waste material was found on roads, in pullover facilities and in the World Heritage-listed forest adjoining the road. Types of items found included whitegoods, cars, tyres, mattresses, plastic buckets, cardboard, metal drums and general waste (including a large numbers of drink containers).

Another study compiled a significant dataset of littering and dumping activity in South West Queensland’s Darling Downs and Surat Basin areas. The study found 27 litter types and more than 4000 individual items. Food and drink-related products were the most common items, followed by vehicle items (car seats, mirrors etc.) and cigarettes. The dominant material type was plastic, followed by glass.

Roads waste moves through the environment via four pathways:

Air
Water
Mechanical
Biological
  1. Improper securing of items around the property including plastics, fencing materials, chemicals, furniture
  2. Animal carcass dumping
  3. Green waste dumping
  4. Other illegally dumped household materials and agricultural products
  5. Effluent from cattle trucks

Management Interventions suitable for rural roads include:

Last updated: 10 May 2021

This page should be cited as:

Department of Environment and Science, Queensland (2021) Roads, WetlandInfo website, accessed 1 February 2023. Available at: https://wetlandinfo.des.qld.gov.au/wetlands/management/pressures/litter-illegal-dumping/sources/roads/

Queensland Government
WetlandInfo   —   Department of Environment and Science