Whanganui 'townies' illegally dumping rubbish at council-funded rural drop-off zones

Rubbish dumped at the Te Hue road drop-off zone. Photo / Robin Casey

Rural rubbish drop-off zones are causing a headache for nearby residents and the Whanganui District Council alike, as "townies" travel to the sites to dump their rubbish.

This week the Te Hue Rd site, maintained by the council for local residents only, was strewn with household appliances such as ovens, washing machines, heaters, bathtubs, sheets and cardboard.

Robin Casey, who discovered the rubbish when driving past the site, said he was shocked with the mess.

"I think people are just too bloody lazy to lift stuff into the bin," Casey said.

"All that household stuff there, that's just been pulled off the back of a truck.

"Now the ratepayer is going to have to pay the contractor to go up and fix it. That quite honestly pisses me right off."

Included in the heap of rubbish strewn across the site was paper and resources from Aberfeldy School, as well as mail addressed to principal Roger Moore.

Casey said there was about "two 200-litre drums worth" of rubbish from the school across the ground.

When informed by the Chronicle of the mess, Moore immediately travelled to the spot with the school's board chairman and administrator to clean up the dumped rubbish.

Moore said the school did not dump the rubbish.

"I talked with our groundskeeper that assured me that our rubbish bags had been placed inside the skip. For reasons unknown bags had been pulled out and ripped apart.

"We talked to some locals and they said it's 'townies' that are treating the community skips as a dumping ground."

The skip bins are maintained under a council contract, whereby occupants of the local rural area not serviced by rubbish collection are permitted to dispose of their waste. Only household waste is allowed to be dropped off. Whiteware, green waste and furniture is prohibited. The skips are emptied weekly.

Whanganui District Council senior property analyst Graeme Paulger said the issue of illegal dumping was becoming more widespread.

"The actions of members of our community in dumping non-compliant waste at these sites means that our ratepayers are incurring significant costs dealing with this waste," Paulger said.

"The annual amount for the two contracts [to dispose of the waste] is about $200,000. Additionally, the council incurs a significant cost in tidying up the non-compliant waste at these sites."

"The council is currently undertaking a review of its waste management and minimisation plan. This will guide future services provided in the rural areas."

The fine for illegally dumping rubbish is $400.