Territory and Municipal Services MInister Shane Rattenbury said people were increasingly dumpling general waste, white goods, clothes and builders' rubble at the recycling centre, costing the government time and money. Collectors had even found animal carcasses.

If recyclable material is contaminated with non-recyclable material, the entire load often has to be disposed of at the landfill," he said, announcing $360,000 for new closed circuit television at four recycling points across the city.

The surveillance will be used at recycling points in Jolly Street in Belconnen, Baillieu Street in Mitchell, Botany Street in Phillip, and Scollay Street in Tuggeranong. Mr Rattenbury said it would result in better evidence for use in prosecutions and fines.

Drop-off centres were open around the clock, seven days a week and took paper and cardboard in large cages, he said. They also took jars and bottles, rigid plastic, milk and juice cartons, and aluminium and steel cans, including aerosols. Polystyrene must not be left in boxes.

The upgrades to CCTV equipment would begin next week and be completed by the end of the month.

The Salvation Army installed CCTV cameras last year, but continues to have problems with rubbish dumped on the foothpath outside its Fyshwick store.

Now Kambah resident Sue Swift has written to government ministers, including Chief Minister Andrew Barr, demanding action on illegal dumping at charity bins at the Kambah Village shops.

On Thursday, there were two televisions, sound systems, two microwaves, a discarded suitcase full of junk, a printer and plastic bags full of rubbish spilling onto the road, she said.

The recycling bins were not working, but simply "encouraging a small minority to degrade neighbourhoods with their illegal dumping".

The Kambah shops had eight bins and a charity shop, she said, describing the dumping of rubbish there as "a weekly event".

She also questioned what happened to the items left at the bins, having called a phone number on one bin to be told that the person responsible for collection was unwell. There was now a notice on one of the bins telling the public they could take anything they wanted because it was free.

"The threat of a fine is an empty threat. All that happens is that rangers are deployed to collect the rubbish. All actions are reactive and no one wants to make the hard decisions," she said. "The Kambah village shops looks like a Third World country instead of a beautiful suburb of Canberra."