Rubbish dumped on Mountain Rd has prompted disgust from Rotorua residents. Photos / Supplied
Rubbish dumped on Mountain Rd has prompted disgust from Rotorua residents. Photos / Supplied
Hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent on cleaning up illegally dumped rubbish and one woman says Rotorua locals need to take greater responsibility for the land.
After years of living in Brisbane, Merania Mihaka
recently returned to Rotorua but was appalled to discover a huge pile of dumpedrubbish in Mountain Rd earlier this month.
Mihaka expressed her upset on social media with photos she had taken, prompting a flurry of equally concerned comments.
Rubbish dumped on Mountain Rd has prompted disgust from Rotorua residents. Photos / Supplied
She told the Rotorua Daily Post it had been a beautiful day and she took a drive up Mountain Rd "to take in the view of home, and what an eyesore".
"I was highly disgusted," she said.
"We have such a beautiful city but it's the locals who are ruining our own taonga [treasure], our whenua [land], our kainga [habitat]."
In figures obtained by the Rotorua Daily Post, Rotorua Lakes Council spent about $80,000 to clean up illegally dumped rubbish in the 2019/20 financial year, in response to 688 reports. In 2018/19, the council spent more than $70,000 responding to 575 reports.
In the days after Mihaka's post, a group of 20 volunteers, organised by Mrs Rotorua 2019 Kristal Pehi, picked up 5.5 tonnes of rubbish in the Mountain Rd area with the support of the council and Smart Environmental.
Pehi said at the time the rubbish was disgusting as it was dumped in a native bush area but "now our land can breath again to grow new life".
Council solid waste and sustainability manager Prashant Praveen
said illegal dumping was always concerning and disappointing.
"It's harmful to both the environment and the reputation of our city. When residents call to report illegal dumping, they are often disappointed about how the rubbish looks for our city."
The most commonly dumped items in Rotorua were bags of household waste, plus building materials, old furniture and mattresses.
"Occasionally contractors will come across a dead animal, or animal carcass," Praveen said.
Rubbish dumped on Mountain Rd has prompted disgust from Rotorua residents. Photos / Supplied
While most illegal dumping took place in urban areas, larger dumping typically occurred rurally. The council used preventative measures such as reducing the surrounding vegetation, installing CCTV cameras, signs, public rubbish bins and working alongside the community to reduce such dumping.
"Illegal dumping is a community problem, and people need to take personal responsibility for doing the right thing when it comes to disposing of the waste they generate."
Rubbish that has made its way to a waterway such as a lake, river or stream is looked after by Bay of Plenty Regional Council, which estimated it spent $12,000 from January to August this year on staff time and disposal costs related to illegally dumped trash. In 2019, these costs were at least $21,000.
Regional council urban, industry and response compliance manager Stephen Mellor said the organisation received about 100 rubbish-dumping complaints each year, "which is approximately 3 per cent of the total calls we receive through our Pollution Hotline".
Complaints responded to by the regional council could include those referred to other councils.
"Rubbish dumping is not pretty and it comes at a substantial cost to the community, not only financially but socially and environmentally, too. While we do our best to clean up rubbish as soon as we are aware of it, it shouldn't be there in the first place," Mellor said.
"Anything dumped or discharged into a waterway is a concern and particularly where people are deliberately targeting beautiful waterways for rubbish disposal."
Mellor said it could cost ratepayers from $30 to more than $150 per complaint.
"We physically attended 80 incidents relating to rubbish dumping in 2019, and 54 to date in 2020, which would equate to a minimum of $12,000 and $8100 respectively, excluding any disposal fees."
The total number of calls to the regional council's Pollution Hotline relating to rubbish dumping in 2019 was 132. From January 1 to August 21 this year, there were 81 calls.
"These dumpings occurred right across the rohe in 2019, with Tauranga receiving the most amount of calls (46), followed closely by Rotorua (36), and Western Bay of Plenty (24)."
How people can help · If you witness illegal dumping do not approach the offenders but take notes and photos or videos of the person and their vehicle. This can help with identification and prosecution. · Report any dumped rubbish to council as soon as possible so contractors can remove it before people add to it. · It is very helpful if you supply photos that have a location tag. This can be done by turning on your location services on your smart device before taking the photo. This enables contractors to go straight to the dumping site rather than spending time searching for the rubbish.
Penalties Illegal dumping and littering are governed by the Litter Act 1979 and an infringement can be up to $400 and a fine resulting from prosecution can be up to $5000 per individual involved. If the 'litter' could endanger someone or cause injury or sickness, for example broken bottles, the fine can be up $7500 per person involved.
