Council wrestles with big increase in dumping
When Chris Hogan stopped at Spooner's Range Lookout during a motorcycle ride in August he was disgusted to find a heap of rubbish dumped at the picturesque spot.
The pile included a refrigerator, household waste and some correspondence, which he dug out and sent to Tasman District Council when he reported the dumping.
However, when Hogan returned recently, the rubbish was still there, with more heaped on top.
“I think one person is using it regularly as a dump,” he said. It was disappointing to see at an otherwise pleasant spot, he said.
Tasman District Council communications officer Tim O'Connell said council contractors would remove the rubbish from the area, which encompassed Department of Conservation, council and private land.
The area would be monitored more closely, he said.
"We are confident that going forward, any further dumping will be easier to identify, track down and punish the culprits accordingly."
Instances of dumping across Tasman have increased significantly. A recent council report showed there were 105 instances of dumping in the 2022-23 year, compared to 42 in 2018-19.
The 150% increase included a rise in the instances in animal carcass dumping.
Over the same period, the cost of disposing of household rubbish has also risen.
A 45-litre rubbish bag has almost doubled, from $2.10 to $4.10, while taking your waste to a recovery centre has gone from $159 to $282 per tonne, or from $56 to $100 per square metre.
However, the council did not accept cost as a reason to dump rubbish, O’Connell said. Cans, bottles and cardboard cost nothing to dispose of, and in some cases can actually make some money for people if exchanged at a scrap-metal facility, he said.
For general waste or larger items like whiteware, the council aimed to make rubbish collection services as affordable as possible, he said.
Illegal dumping was a “frustrating and unnecessary problem” that cost ratepayers tens of thousands of dollars each year, O’Connell said.
“In truth, illegal dumping is not something that the council or its contractors should have to deal with. The responsibility of keeping our district tidy starts with all of us.
“Our reserves, rivers – or anywhere else that isn’t an approved rubbish receptacle or rubbish-management facility – are not dump sites.”
If council staff could identify the people who dumped the rubbish, they could recover costs for them, or prosecute if appropriate, O’Connell said.