Meeanee resident Jake Haszard was disposing of equipment he uses for work at Stewart Decorators.
“Everything the water touched,” he said through a mask, tossing flood-contaminated material into the Redclyffe Transfer Station.
Among the waste at Redclyffe were dozens of fridges, freezers, washing machines and dryers. Some fridges had magnets, stickers, shopping lists and family notes on the doors. Some still had food inside.
Meeanee resident Jake Haszard dumps his work gear, contaiminated by floodwaters during Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Paul Taylor
The Napier City Council opened the Redclyffe dump at 1pm today for Napier residents to dispose of flood-damaged household items until Sunday - free of charge.
A line of cars stretched along part of Springfield Rdand parts of Gloucester St, as one by one, authorities let vehicles traverse the silt-covered track to dump their possessions.
They drove past the destroyed Redclyffe bridge and substation, where a team of workers continue to toil.
After Sunday, normal charges will apply, but the council said free landfill access will continue for certain flood-damaged properties as advised. Redclyffe is not taking recycling or green waste currently.
Some Puketapu residents spoken to by the Herald have expressed their frustration at the neighbouring Hastings District Council still charging a fee to dump flood waste.
However, this afternoon the council changed course and said it was now collecting flood-damaged household goods for free, from the verge outside damaged properties on nominated days.
“Please wait for info on when collection will happen in your street before putting your goods out for collection,” the Hastings council said in a statement.
“We know flood waste disposal is a priority for affected residents and we appreciate your patience while we organised trucks, manpower and a disposal site.”
Communities will be advised of their collection day ahead of pick-up, the council said. Residents were also told to photograph their belongings before they were collected, if they plan to claim insurance.
Taradale resident Hayden Allen had several trailers of flood waste to remove after returning to his home. Photo / Paul Taylor
Taradale resident Hayden Allen was removing several trailer loads of possessions after the water swamped his rental home about 100m from the Tutaekuri River.
The house was “surrounded by a swamp of water” nearly 2m high.
“Words can’t even describe it,” he said, recalling his return to his home after the storm.
“We’ve got about five rubbish loads at this stage, and we’re still going... Beds, linen, clothes... TVs, all your electronics. I don’t think there’s any stone left unturned.”
Despite not having contents insurance, Allen considered himself and his children lucky to escape the floodwaters after learning of at least 11 deaths from the cyclone - nine of which have come in Hawke’s Bay.
Allen said he wasn’t sure if his family would return to live in Taradale.
