Roadside rubbish a wasteland of f ilth

Faded plastic bottles, twisted beer cans and torn sweet wrappers on roadsides are no surprise to contractors who have to pick them up daily.

It’s the dirty nappies, used condoms, sanitary items, hypodermic needles and animal carcasses that get to them the most. Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon sight on New Zealand roadsides or parking bays, with councils spending thousands of dollars on cleanups every year.

In Hawke’s Bay alone, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) spends close to $140,000 on 502 kilometres of roadside cleanups every year.

Regional transport systems manager Oliver Postings said the littering of roadsides was not new. ‘‘Given the length of the state highway network and the remoteness of some areas, it is not possible to completely prevent people who are determined to do so from dumping rubbish at the side of the road.’’ Roadside littering was ‘‘illegal, inconsiderate and harmful to the environment’’, he said.

Hastings District Council’s Wendy Schollum said about $250,000 was spent each year, translating ‘‘to about six to seven basketball courts that we could have provided for our community.’’

Christchurch City Council spent $214,317 in the last financial year and streets manager Mark Pinner said the roadside waste problem had been steadily increasing and fly tipping was a common problem.

In Wellington, a spokesperson from the city council said $7 million was spent on cleaning up rubbish each year, but that cost included bin collections, illegal dumping, loose litter collection and graffiti cleanups.

Zero Waste Network chairman Marty Hoffart said New Zealand was going backwards when it came to reducing waste and that illegal dumping would never go away.

‘‘The New South Wales Environmental Authority in Australia recently introduced a ‘Return and Earn’ initiative with two billion drink containers collected just 19 months after its establishment,’’ Hoffart said.

‘‘Tourism is our biggest industry and people are coming here to look at our pristine environment, but we’re one of the biggest disposers of rubbish.’’