Whangarei's Pohe Island dump has been THE place to be lately - some 2000 tonnes of rubbish being dumped there in the past week.
Never mind the putrid stench or the hundreds of seagulls splashing about in a huge filthy puddle, people were lining up to dispose of load after load
of rubbish before a new user-pays system started today.
The landfill's imminent closure inspired a clean-up frenzy on a scale rarely seen in Whangarei. Council workers were rushed off their feet. One man estimated he had taken 10 trailer-loads of rubbish to the tipface, where the ground shook as a huge bulldozer rumbled back and forth.
Whangarei District Council waste manager Gary Oldcorn said, "Lots of people have been having a clean-up and taking advantage of the low fees before the prices go up. There's been some good queues in the last couple of weeks. We expect to have a quiet time (at the new dump) in the next wee while."
Though the official amount of rubbish dumped in the last seven days was unkown, Mr Oldcorn estimated it was up to twice the normal amount of 1000 tonnes a week. The 54-hectare dump site would eventually be turned into a park area, he said.
Meanwhile, refuse stations across the district were also reporting heavy patronage with rubbish stacked shoulder high at Kokopu, an angry customer, Gavin Wiliams of Poroti, said. He lodged an official complaint with the council after being turned away from the transfer station. He said he would be refusing to pay $16 when he takes his trailer load back again today.
• From today the district's rubbish will go to a new transfer station, Re:sort, in Kioreora Rd, where it will be compacted and trucked to Auckland. The cost of dumping a carload of rubbish rises from $1 to $7, a trailer-load from $4 to $16. Also starting today, rubbish left out for weekly collection must be in official council bags or carry a council sticker. Both cost $1.40 at supermarkets, dairies and service stations. Recycling is free and Pohe Island stays open for clean fill only.
