Whangarei councillors full of suggestions to target illegal dumping problem

A large illegal dumpsite was discovered in Parakao in June. Photo/Michael Cunningham

There was plenty of trash talk as Whangarei's political leaders searched for solutions to the district's illegal dumping problem.

Cleaning up illegally-dumped rubbish cost the council just over $200,000 in the past financial year.

A report, detailing illegal rubbish dumping in the Whangarei District was presented to the Infrastructure Committee recently and sparked a flurry of ideas.

Councillor Tricia Cutforth suggested a campaign encouraging people to shame the act, so it became socially unacceptable. She also suggested a free day at the landfill or an inorganic collection.

Councillor Stuart Bell wanted communities to take ownership and for ratepayers to be aware of the cost. "It's not okay to ruin our environment and our district."

Council waste and drainage officer Grant Alsop said another possibility could be taking jumbo bins to rural communities to allow them to get rid of their items for a koha.

A "well-targeted" education programme was among the ideas.

Councillor Sharon Morgan described the cost as "an extraordinary waste of money".

Councillor Sue Glen questioned how the dumpers could ruin beautiful areas of bush.

Mr Alsop said isolated locations with limited traffic movements were attractive to dumpers.

He said people were getting more proactive at reporting dump sites.

The report conceded dumping was unlikely to be eliminated, but identified measures which may reduce incidents.

These included improved vegetation disposal at transfer stations, more transfer stations to cover remote locations or collection days with skip bins, increased use of covert cameras and signs, improved e-waste collection facilities and increasing the range of plastics that were collected.

There is on average 60-70 clean up jobs a month, ranging from large sites to pieces of commercial and household furniture, appliances and vegetation.

The council issued about $19,000 of infringement notices last financial year.

The council uses covert cameras in known dump sites to identify offenders.

Mr Alsop said the $400 fine was not enough, particularly when some jobs cost $20,000 or $30,000.

Councillor Vince Cocurullo said he had no problem with the fine being increased.

Higher fines are available through the Resource Management Act and other legislation but the level of proof required is also higher.

"If we were to go on to court we would need hard evidence," Mr Alsop said. That hard evidence is things like camera footage and witnesses.

Currently Northland Waste have an allocation of $100,000 a year for fly tipping, as part of the contract for rubbish control.

Additional funding to manage fly tipping is being considered as part of the Long Term Plan process.