Illegal dumpers put greenwaste site in peril

Patea's greenwaste site could be shut down from January 1 next year because locals have not heeded warnings not to dump unnecessary waste.

South Taranaki District Council operations manager Herbert Denton said there had been continual problems with illegal dumping at a site where the greenwaste from Patea residents was collected to use in a sand dune stabilisation project.

Council contractors had been clearing household refuse, dumped TV sets and suchlike every two weeks, Mr Denton said.

Although the facility was intended for use by private Patea and local area residents only, the council also knew of people who were driving from as far away as Manaia and Hawera to dump green waste, Mr Denton said.

It was also sometimes used as a dump for truckloads of material by contractors, which was not permitted as the project simply could not cope with too much material, he said.
South Taranaki councillor Robert Northcott said earlier that he was fed up with people in his hometown of Patea who lacked a sense of pride.

"They dump stuff anywhere they choose. It's like they just come down here and throw their rubbish out of their cars and don't care."

He said the dump was set up by the sand dunes overlooking the beach to help strengthen the dunes, not fill them with toxic rubbish.

A council development committee is due to discuss the recommended closure.

Recommendations to the council will include that the greenwaste site be closed on January 1, 2017 and the importation of greenwaste for dune stabilisation be approved.

Mr Denton said the reasons would include:
¦Resource consent conditions will no longer be breached by excessive dumping of greenwaste, while still providing for ongoing dune stabilisation.
¦Prevention of sand hazards (erosion and reported burial of buildings ) which happened at Patea Beach in the 1950s and 1980s.