More effluent dumping sites needed

Chris Winchcombe outside his house with the strip of dried effluent from stock trucks. Photo/Stuart Munro

Stock effluent is spilling onto Whanganui roads because there is no dumping station here.

That's the view of Tom Cloke from the New Zealand Road Transport Association. Mr Cloke was responding to complaints from Carlton Ave resident Chris Winchcombe about stock effluent being dumped on the side of the road.

Mr Cloke said his organisation had been trying to work with New Zealand Transport Agency - which is responsible for dump sites - for years over the issue of getting effluent dump sites in Whanganui.

"Whanganui definitely needs its own dump - probably two. There are a couple of meat companies in Whanganui, and a lot of trucks pass through on their way to meat companies in Taranaki, so they're definitely needed," he said.

Mr Cloke said the nearest dump sites were in Waverley and Feilding.

"If a truckie empties their truck in Feilding, the effluent collection will be full again by the time they get to Whanganui."

However, a map of the effluent dump sites shows that there are much longer stretches of road with no effluent dump sites, such as the entire length of SH4 until Te Kuiti.

Mr Cloke said for many truckies it was not a case of dumping effluent, but the truck's collection tanks overflowing.

"If you've ever followed a stock truck up a hill, you might have seen their collection tanks overflowing on to the road. It's like a swimming pool that fills up too much - and if it's been raining it gets full even quicker."

He said this year had been particularly bad because of the rainy weather.

"The grass has no body in it, so it goes straight through the animals and out the other end. Basically, we have more effluent being produced."

Mr Cloke said the association had asked all truckies to be extra careful about their effluent collection tanks because of the rainy weather.

"But it's difficult for them when there just aren't enough dump sites."

Several commenters on the Wanganui Chronicle's Facebook page echoed Mr Cloke's concerns.

Antz McGahey, who drives stock trucks, said problems with leaking effluent weren't going away any time soon.

"When it's pouring with rain, tanks fill twice as fast, and there's nowhere to dump other than Feilding for Waverley. [We] need one in Whanganui."

Stephen Holloway said NZTA and local councils should consider having dump sites on every highway entry to Whanganui.

"To expect the truckies to manage effluent when they don't have any sites provided is a bit on the nose, to be fair."

However, Rick Warren had a different perspective, saying that all trucks should be banned from suburban streets.