The Ministry of Public Works has issued a public advisory that the increased penalty for the illegal dumping of waste is $10,000 for a first offence, and up to $25,000 for subsequent offences.The Waste and Litter Control Act Amendment 2012, also makes it easier to convict illegal dumpers due to changes in the way evidence is examined.Anyone found guilty of an offence under the Act can now be convicted if items addressed to them or otherwise linked to them are found dumped.A Ministry spokesperson said: “Illegal dumping attracts and provides breeding grounds for rats, feral chickens and mosquitoes.“Rats and mosquitoes are disease vectors that carry diseases that are harmful to humans and transmittable as well.“Feral chickens destroy landscapes and farmers’ crops, and spread litter and waste through neighbourhoods and along highways.”The spokesperson noted that removing waste once it is dumped “is far more costly than correct disposal, very labour intensive and potential dangerous to human health”.The list of items dumped illegally includes, but is not limited to household appliances, mattresses, bags of household waste and hazardous waste.The most frequent illegal dumping spots include the railway trails, vacant lots and at the end of quiet lanes throughout the island.The Ministry advisory concluded: “Disposing of waste correctly costs little and is easy to do.”