Rachal Fegan runs a sheep and beef farm on the outskirts of Milton, and says fly-tipping has been a problem in the area for years.
When the Otago Daily Times checked Fegan and Bush Gully Rds this week, there were several piles of rubbish scattered along the sides of both roads.
Most of the rubbish was household waste, but larger items such as mattresses, a fridge, a stereo and speakers, and a vacuum cleaner were also dumped there.
''It's been going on for such a long time, it's getting beyond a joke,'' Mrs Fegan said.
Piles of ashes had also been dumped along forestry roads - near blocks of forestry that stretch for kilometres between Milton and Taieri Mouth.
Earlier this week, Mrs Fegan and her husband came across a trailer-load of decaying grass clippings dumped in one of their paddocks.
''Someone had the nerve to open the gate and back a vehicle right into our paddock, dumping a load of clippings.''
Pregnant cows were in the paddock at the time, and decaying clippings were not good for them to eat as it could make them sick, she said.
''It's disgusting that they are even dumping it on private property ... This is our livelihood.''
She regularly contacted the Clutha District Council about fly-tipping in the area, Mrs Fegan said.
''The council does clean it up, but it's not solving the problem. People need to take responsibility - would they want us to dump rubbish in their backyard?''
Clutha District Council planning and environment manager Murray Brass said the Litter Act made it illegal for anyone to deposit rubbish of any kind on to land without the approval of the landowner.
On land that was not privately owned, the dumped rubbish was breaching the council's bylaws.
''When we can trace the rubbish we can issue fines, or in more serious cases we can prosecute.''
Illegal dumping or ''fly-tipping'' was a problem across the district, although there tended to be ''hot spots'' in places out of sight and off the road, Mr Brass said.
In some cases, mail was retrieved from dumped rubbish, but often the offenders had moved from the area, making it difficult for the council to track them down.
Earlier this year, the council and Otago Regional Council received many complaints about illegal dumping in a former gravel-dredging area beside the Clutha River, off Barnego Rd, on the outskirts of Balclutha.
In 2008, the council introduced a new bylaw with a two-tier infringement system for those caught littering. Small to medium cases of littering can result in instant fines of either $100 or $400, while major cases go before the courts.
The council successfully prosecuted a man in 2008 for dumping rubbish near Clinton.
He was convicted and fined $1000 and ordered to pay $101 reparation after dumping a trailer-load of rubbish at a lay-by in September 2007.
Mr Brass asked the public to report vehicle registrations or other identifying details if people were suspected of illegally dumping rubbish.
''The more information and evidence we have, the more likely we are to be able fine or prosecute.''
