The council's collection site at Kauarapaoa Rd, one of 14 in rural parts of the district.
The council's collection site at Kauarapaoa Rd, one of 14 in rural parts of the district.
Whanganui District Council will reassess its rural rubbish service, with audits showing more than half the materials collected could have been diverted from landfill.
Speaking to the Whanganui Rural Community Board, council waste officer John Sula said illegal dumping remained an issue at three rural sites – Te Hue Rd,Ngaturi and Koriniti.
“Commercial waste, car parts and metal dominate, with recidivous behaviours,” he said.
“We are aware that commercial businesses, local and northern, would be included in dropping that material off.”
Gated, monitored sites at Parikino, Atene and Pipiriki performed much better, with very little illegal waste, he said.
“It is time to review the service we deliver, and I can’t stress strongly enough that members of the community who live in those particular areas need to be part of that solution.”
In April, council waste manager Morgan Harrison said Te Hue Rd site, about 52km northeast of the city off State Highway 4, had become overrun with illegal dumping, with people travelling from Raetihi to get rid of waste.
At the time, the council’s litter team spent half a day there once a week.
Harrison told the Chronicle this week that over the past 12 months, rural sites had repeatedly been used to dump material “that is clearly not everyday household waste”.
“Old mattresses, couches, whiteware, scrap metal, construction waste and even animal carcasses have all been left there.”
She said recent waste audits showed up to 55% of the material going to rural sites could have been diverted from landfill through recycling, scrap-metal recovery or composting.
“A recent example at Te Hue saw nearly 200kg of glass bottles dumped beside the skip – despite the fact they could have been taken to the Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre for free."
A report from Harrison said 7.94 tonnes of illegally dumped material had been sent to landfill in the final quarter of the 2024-25 financial year, with 182 tyres retrieved.
Whanganui District Council waste manager Morgan Harrison. Photo / Mike Tweed
Thirty-one cases were sent to the council’s compliance team, resulting in 14 infringements.
There was insufficient evidence for 15 cases, with seven still being investigated.
She said the council’s litter patrol team, one of only a handful in the country, cost ratepayers about $180,000 a year to operate.
“It does its best to separate scrap metal and recyclable items from the waste they collect at these sites, to reduce both the environmental impact and the cost to ratepayers of sending everything to landfill.
“They do a fantastic job keeping our district clean despite the challenges they face.”
Sula said the litter team visited sites before the bins were emptied by a contractor.
The glass collected at Te Hue Rd was “only the tip of the iceberg” and waste could be diverted if comprehensive recycling and organics services were available, he said.
Rural recycling stations were being considered but “the number one fear is contamination”.
Harrison said the council was in the early stages of developing its next Waste Minimisation and Management Plan, which would guide the approach to managing the district’s waste over the next five to six years.
“As part of this process, we will be talking with our rural communities – and rural community board members – to find out what’s working, what’s not, and how we can make our approach to managing rural waste in our more remote parts of the community more effective and efficient."
In 2029, the council increased the illegal dumping infringement fee from $100 to $400.
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.
