Northland will be a safer place next month after rural Kaipara residents dump their poisons in the right place.
Last year the Northland Regional Council netted more than two tonnes of hazardous waste from Kaipara during a collection of unwanted chemicals, some of which had been banned in New Zealand for
decades.
The haul included 1.5 tonnes collected in a single day from the rural Dargaville area, surprising council staff who had expected to collect no more than 200kg.
The council will hold similar collections at five Kaipara sites over a fortnight in November, waste management team leader Jerry Nelson said.
The chemicals the council is keen to collect can pose environmental and human/animal health risks, especially if stored in leaking, damaged or unlabelled containers, he said.
Other substances include old, unwanted or unidentifiable agrichemicals, dairy shed cleaners, animal treatments and empty containers.
"We'll just be pleased to get these things out of the environment. Some of them are lethal and not the sort of stuff you want hanging around."
The collection will not include explosives, infectious substances, radioactive wastes, waste oil, paint, vehicle batteries and general household or farm wastes.
Property owners who have 100kg-plus quantities of chemicals or containers that are unsafe or deteriorating should contact the council to arrange to have the chemicals collected, rather than risk moving them themselves.
The council is using a specially modified Mitsubishi L300 van, the HazMobile, to take the chemicals to Whangarei for storage and repackaging. They will then be sent to Auckland where the Ministry for the Environment will arrange final disposal.
The collections will begin at the Dargaville Transfer Station in Awakino Rd on November 14, and end at the Mangawhai Police Station on November 28.
