Dib Abdallah Hanna has been caught illegally dumping building waste in suburban Sydney so many times that it will be 2072 before he finally pays off all the fines.

But that did not stop him breaking into a residential building site last year and dumping nearly 80 tonnes of building waste laced with asbestos. The act was a breach of a court order forbidding the self-described ''waste removalist'' from illegal dumping.

But on Thursday a Land and Environment Court judge, Nicola Pain, opted for leniency, giving Hanna a three-month suspended jail sentence after he pleaded guilty to contempt. The judge said it appeared ''fines had become meaningless as a deterrent'' - a reference to Hanna's record of illegal dumping across the city's north, west and south-west. This includes eight previous criminal convictions for illegal dumping and 22 penalty notices, resulting in $213,000 in fines.

The court heard that Mr Hanna has paid virtually none of the fines, but has ''entered into a payment plan with the State Debt Recovery Office'', paying $300 a month.

At that rate, the 37-year-old will pay off the fines in 2072, when he is 97 years old.

The latest dumping incident took place on April 5 last year, when Hanna made eight trips over a seven-hour period to a Picnic Point property to dump clay, bricks, metal, glass, tiles, fibro, concrete and material containing asbestos.

Hanna later pleaded guilty to the breach, saying he knew he was breaching the rules but did not realise the consequences.