Kings Highway residents are becoming increasingly fed up with travellers brazenly dumping rubbish at their front gates, and want Eurobodalla Shire Council to help address the problem.
West Nelligen neighbours Rhett Mitchell and Albert Veith say rubbish, including full garbage bags, dirty nappies, food containers and beer bottles and cans, is routinely dumped at their front gates and on the verges that border their properties.
Mr Mitchell said the problem seemed to become worse after Eurobodalla Shire Council removed its community recycling facility and bins from Mackay Park.
Both men pick up the rubbish but disposing of it, given that they do not receive council waste services, is not cheap or easy.
"With the price of fuel going up again this week, it's become an expensive exercise to take other people's rubbish from Nelligen to the Surf Beach tip and back - it's a 50km-round trip," Mr Mitchell said.
"I've been doing it for 10 years and today is the day when I feel like stopping, because they won't.
"I've asked and asked and asked [the council] for something to be done.
"All we want is a drop-off point somewhere where everybody can drop the rubbish."
Mr Mitchell said he routinely found dumped rubbish at his gate on Monday mornings - usually beer bottles and dirty nappies.
About six months ago, Mr Mitchell caught a man and a woman in the act of dumping rubbish, but instead of apologising, the woman became abusive.
Mr Veith says he parks his ute near at his front gate on weekends in the hope of deterring dumpers, but also caught an offender red-handed.
"A woman drove in off the highway, pulled up, got out of the car, went to the back of the car opened the tailgate and out came two green plastic bags full of rubbish," he said.
"She put it beside the road, just around the corner here.
"I called out, I said, 'Lady, if I were you I wouldn't do that, I've got your number plate'.
"She grabbed the bags and went back in the car and off she went."
Mr Veith said he often stood at his window at home with binoculars and saw people pull up outside his property to leave their waste.
He said that Eurobodalla Shire Council sometimes left woodchips, grass clippings and construction materials temporarily on roadsides did not help the situation.
"It entices people to dump," Mr Veith said.
On the day the Bay Post/Moruya Examiner visited, a pile of woodchips had been left on the border of Mr Veith's property. Surrounding it was a bag of rubbish, a lacy pair of women's underwear, beer bottles and a wine cask, which Mr Mitchell said was not there the day before.
He said the area west of Nelligen was a beautiful place, which residents took a great deal of pride in.
"We don't want people to spoil it," he said.
Eurobodalla Shire Council says it will focus its illegal dumping patrols in the Nelligen area following concerns from Kings Highway residents Rhett Mitchell and Albert Veith, who are fed up with travellers dumping their rubbish on the highway.
A council spokeswoman said there were 13 litter bins in Nelligen.
"As a result of Mr Mitchell's complaint, council will focus its illegal dumping patrols in the Nelligen area and consider the introduction of signage to deter people from dumping their rubbish illegally," the spokeswoman said.
"The responsibility of clean-up for roadside areas of 100km per hour speed limit, where Mr Mitchell lives, rests with the Roads and Maritime Service.
"Areas under the 100km per hour speed limit are council responsibility.
"If residents are having issues with illegal dumping, please contact council on 4474 1000 or the NSW EPA hotline on 131 555."
