In an effort to prevent illegal waste dumping, the Taipei City government has decided to grant cash rewards to citizens who provide information leading to the arrest of offenders, with the rewards of up to 30 percent of fines collected by the agency, a city official said on Sunday.

The citys Department of Environmental Protection has stepped up its crack down on wanton waste dumping and littering since June 2000 when it implemented the "fee per bag" measure, which required residents to purchase specially designated trash bags for the disposal of garbage, and a "No Drop" policy which prohibited leaving garbage on the streets.

The DEP, based on information supplied by local residents, has uncovered a total of 8,000 cases of illegal waste dumping over the past five months, and investigated 14,243 cases altogether during the last year, according to the official.

Under the Waste Disposal Act, those convicted of illegally dumping waste face fines ranging from NT$1,200 （US$36.36） to NT$6,000, the official said.

The DEP is now poised to adopt measures to further crack down on improper dumping and encourage the public to provide information on offenders, the spokesman noted, stating that beginning July 1, violators will be subject to heavy fines if they commit offenses more than twice within a year.