Rubbish, whiteware, electrics: Outrage after spate of illegal dumping

Illegal dumping located at the Awatapu Lagoon on Monday. Photo / Whakatāne District Council

A spate of illegal dumping has caused the Whakatāne District Council to put out a plea to identify the people responsible.

Council workers have found illegal waste dumped at many locations, yet hotspots have been found along Tahuna Rd and Cutler Cres.

😡 This is NOT the same photo from different angles. These are two separate instances of illegal dumping on Monday and...

Posted by Whakatāne District Council on Thursday, 7 November 2019

Many have been littered with basic household rubbish, however, some are using these sites as drop-off points for unwanted whiteware and electrics.

Both today and on Monday, workers were outraged to find illegal dumping taking place in the exact same location in Awatapu Lagoon.

Council community regulation manager Graeme Lewer said he was "furious about the lack of respect for our environment that he's seen in the past week alone".

"People might think they're saving themselves some dollars by dumping illegally, but they're putting that cost back on to the ratepayers, and on the environment," he said.

Illegal dumping was found today at the Awatapu Lagoon. Photo / Whakatāne District Council

Lewer said it was time to identify those responsible so they could be fined and charged the cost of disposal, as well as the officer's time.

Anyone who sees illegal dumping taking place was asked to record the vehicle registration number and any other information that may help in identifying those responsible.

Lewer said a lot of the items dumped could be donated to charity or even sold at a garage sale or on Trade Me.

While there are costs associated with taking waste to the Whakatāne transfer station, these only cover the cost of the responsible removal and disposal, he said.

There were a range of tips on reducing, recycling and disposing of waste responsibly on the council website.