Super fly tipper dodges $5k fine

Masterton's worst illegal dumper will dodge a potential $5000 fine after ditching a trailer-load of beer bottles, nappies, and other "unhygenic items" at Henley Lake.
The decision is a setback to Masterton District Council, which is parading a new zero tolerance strategy against people throwing bags of household trash out of their car doors.
In a rare move, the council was planning to prosecute a person in the District Court for dumping nine garbage bags in the carpark of Henley Lake in September.
But resource planner Glenn Bunny said lawyers had since advised the council that their evidence against the person - a tip-off - was not strong enough for a successful prosecution.
While he said it was disappointing they couldn't penalise such a "flagrant" abuse, they would still pursue the offender in the courts for payment of a $400 instant fine.
Three other fly-tippers had $400 fines owing and these would also be passed over to the courts for collection.
While none of the those incidents were as serious as the Henley Lake dumping, Mr Bunny said it was about sending a message that fly-tippers would be caught and punished.
Of those other dumpers, one piled their household trash into the rubbish bins at Queen Elizabeth Park, another left trash on a country road, and another left trash next to a riverbank.
Mr Bunny said illegal dumping had risen this year, likely due to pressure on household budgets in the economic downturn and the council's increase to transfer station fees in July.
The district council said it increased the fees not to line its coffers but because the recession had meant households were taking smaller volumes of rubbish to dump while the council continued to pay the same fixed costs.
"But it doesn't cost us much to chase these up and people will soon learn they should pay the $10 at the tip rather than the $400 when we catch them."
Although most offences led to $400 instant fines, issued on the spot or mailed to the offender, the council was now looking at prosecutions as a weapon.
While this could mean big legal costs for the council, Mr Bunny said it was a small price to pay to send its "zero tolerance" message.
This year the council upped the ante by training its staff on fly-tipping prosecutions and tracking down dumpers by scouring their trash for identifiable material, such as receipts and bills.
Grant Howard, co-ordinator of Wairarapa Free Budget Advisory Service, said that while he detested illegal dumping, he had sympathy for those struggling to pay the dump charges.
"It's far too high - $42 for a trailer load? It's expensive and I think education and recycling should be pushed.
"In lawyer fees it's probably $2000 to $3000 for the council to prosecute someone when they could run two or three week-long courses to recycle properly."
Since the rise in GST in October, Mr Howard said he was seeing more low-income people who could not cover basic living costs.