Illegal dumping costs Rotorua Lake Council $100k

Rubbish dumping has been an issue for years. This was dumped on Mountain Rd in February 2017. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER

The Rotorua Lakes Council spends about $100,000 a year to clean up illegally dumped rubbish.

Despite the installation of surveillance a prosecution has not been made in half a decade.

The council's general infrastructure group manager Stavros Michael said the cost of cleaning up illegal dumping was widely varied, depending on the size of the clean-up and terrain.

In Rotorua, illegal dumping made up 0.5 per cent, or 250 tonnes, of the 50,000 tonnes of waste generated in the district, he said.

Michael said the council encouraged people to dispose of waste responsibly.

"Illegal dumping impacts the environment as well as increases council costs," he said.

"In the past five years, the average cost of illegal dumping clean-up in Rotorua was about $100,000 a year."

Michael said the council had mobile surveillance at "dumping hot spots" in an effort to deter dumping and collect evident to prosecute offenders when possible.

While the council had issued infringement notices and warning letters, no one had been prosecuted in the past five years.

Mayor Steve Chadwick said the cost was one the council had to bear.

"This is a very big ratepayer cost but it's part of having a clean environment and feeling proud of the place we live, so it's a cost we have got to bear."

Chadwick said the city's transfer stations were bulging.

Councillor Charles Sturt said illegal dumping was "disgusting" and he encouraged people to report it.

Sturt hoped the cameras would help council prosecute people.

"We've got to catch them in the act," Sturt said.

"It's the cost that really got me, I thought we can do a lot more with that money than picking up people's rubbish."

Dumping hot spots with mobile surveillance include Mountain Rd, Paradise Valley Rd and Violet Bonnington Reserve.

Michael said the issue of illegal dumping wasn't a Rotorua-specific issue but the council aimed to reduce offending through education and community initiatives.

"Illegal dumping is a community problem and people have to take personal responsibility for doing the right thing in disposing of the waste they generate," he said.

"We urge residents to be vigilant in reporting and discouraging illegal dumping to help reduce the problem."

However, Michael said prosecution was difficult as items like addressed mail found in dumped waste wasn't necessarily sufficient evidence.

Sturt said the issue of illegal dumping could also spark a debate around banning plastic bags.

"You see them blowing down the street and where do they end up? They end up in the streams," he said.

"I can't see why we can't [ban plastic bags] but I'd rather do it with the co-operation of the supermarkets.

"We are supposed to have a clean, green image."

Illegal dumping is an ongoing issue in Rotorua. In March 2017 Sturt pushed for an inorganic collection to try and reduce the amount dumped.

At one point Sturt offered a $500 reward to anyone with information that would lead to prosecution of rubbish dumpers.

Reports of illegal rubbish dumping on Mountain Rd go back as far as 2009.

Rahida Ali, a retail, sales and service manager with Red Cross Rotorua said illegal dumping used to cost the Rotorua store $11,000 a month to clean up.

Now the store reports the dumping to the council which arranges clean up.

"It's a national issue. We have problems at several stores around the country," Ali said.