Auckland Council crackdown on dumpers sees more than $90,000 in fines

Illegal dumping on Twilight Rd, Brookby, last year.Photo / Phil Taylor

Fines for illegal dumpers across Auckland have increased nearly fourfold in the past year but not everybody is convinced the crackdown is solving the problem.

Auckland mayor Phil Goff cites the increase in fines to over $90,000 and nearly 20,000 reports of dumping as evidence a crackdown is working.

However, Manurewa-Papakura ward councillor Daniel Newman said while awareness had been increasing, in his ward and areas nearby there had been no decrease in dumping.

"I think we are seeing a lot more rubbish being dumped and council contractors struggling to keep up."

Reports to the council of dumping had increased from 14,027 in 2016-2017 to 18,395 in the year to June this year.

Meanwhile the amount collected had risen slightly since 2016-2017 from 1323 to 1350 tonnes, but fallen from 1500 tonnes the year before last.

Newman wanted to see contractors pick up the illegally dumped rubbish immediately, rather than the current system where it was stickered and left for five days.

He was also concerned there could be an "explosion" in dumping after the food scraps collection service rolled out across the city, which would eventually see rubbish collections decreased from weekly to fortnightly.

Manurewa Local Board chairwoman Angela Dalton says illegal dumping like this on Pavilion Drive in Māngere is still a major issue in her area. Photo / Supplied

Manurewa Local Board chairwoman Angela Dalton said dumping in her area had increased after changes to the inorganic collection, which went from a set time each year where people could place their rubbish on the kerb, to an individual booking system and a one-cubic-metre limit.

If people missed their slot or were unaware, it was an expensive trip to the dump, she said. Lower-income households were also more likely to use second-hand products, and thus needed to dispose of more items.

She wanted to see a community recycling centre and more progress in product stewardship.

Goff said no matter what the situation there was no excuse for illegal dumping.

"I don't accept any excuse people cannot afford to dispose of their rubbish properly.

"We have inorganic collection once a year, maybe we need to advertise it better, but it is available and people have an obligation to the community not to mess up the environment."

The crackdown he launched in February 2018 included a $200,000 annual boost in funding for new enforcement staff, CCTV cameras in hotspots and an 0800NODUMP hotline number.

Goff put the increase in reports of dumping down to council awareness campaigns and the hotline number, which often saw multiple reports for single incidents, rather than an increase in dumping.

The biggest problems were with commercial dumpers, both businesses and people offering fake rubbish collection services, Goff said.

Tyre dumping in Auckland is a major issue. Photo / File

There had been two prosecutions each year over the past three years under the Litter Act 1979, which provides for fines of up to $30,000 for a company and $5000 for an individual.

The most recent prosecution involved a man who offered cheap rubbish collection rates on social media, only to dump it across the region.

However, Goff said there was always more to do.

"We are still spending a huge amount, over a million dollars a year, cleaning up illegal dumping. It has been going on as long as I can remember and people like me have had a gutsful."

He wants the courts to be able to impose community service sentences as well as fines on dumpers, and he wants the Government to introduce a container deposit scheme and better product stewardship, where the cost of disposal was included in commonly dumped products such as tyres.

Auckland Council waste solutions programme director Parul Sood said although there were dumping hotspots across the city, including Manurewa and Papakura, overall the amount of illegal dumping had decreased.

The most commonly dumped items were rubbish bags at 33 per cent, furniture at 26 per cent and mattresses, 15 per cent.

The council had been running campaigns with community organisations in hotspot areas such as Clendon, where in 2018 a huge pile of tyres and other waste was discovered in a ravine, costing ratepayers $25,000 to clean up.

"We have to do the prosecution side, but also engage with the community, raise awareness and pride."

Sood said the new inorganic collection was actually working better than previously, with more engagement.

Previously streets would become overloaded with rubbish during collection time, and commercial operators dumped items that were expensive to dispose of, such as computers.

Sood said about 40 per cent of waste to landfill is food scraps, meaning if the proposed collection service functioned properly people would not need a weekly collection.

"But it will only change after the system has settled in and we see that people do not need weekly collection."

A trial run of the scheme in Papakura had seen a 34 per cent participation rate, and an overall reduction of 21 per cent of waste going to landfill.

There is no set date for when the scheme will be rolled out across all of Auckland.