Mayor slams rubbish dumpers
Auckland mayor Phil Goff is pushing to crack down on Aucklanders who illegally dump rubbish.
‘‘I get really angry about the way people treat their urban environment,’’ said Goff.
The mayor said it was time to target ‘‘people dumping stuff on the side of the road because they are too bloody lazy or too bloody tight to pay the cost of disposing of it properly’’.
Auckland Council’s fine for illegal dumping is up to $400.
If prosecuted through the courts, the fine is $5000 for individuals under the Litter Act.
Goff said the punishment needed to be more for serial offenders.
He was working with the council’s waste management team to identify strategies to tackle illegal dumping of waste, after a spate of high profile dumps across the city.
A key part of Goff’s plan was increased investigation into the source of the illegal dumping.
In the first week of 2018, 28 oil drums were discovered in a car park in the Waita¯kere Ranges, threatening the upper Nihotupu Reservoir, which would have contaminated the local water supply.
Illegal rubbish dumping in Auckland cost ratepayers close to $1 million a year, an increase from $400,000 two years earlier.
In the 2017 financial year, 1300 tonnes of rubbish was dumped illegally.
Goff said illegal dumping tended to take place in specific areas.
‘‘There are two sites where people who are lazy and irresponsible dump their rubbish. One is in the countryside and the other is in the industrial areas of the city.’’
While dumping had been an issue for a long time, Goff believed the frequency was increasing.
However, he rejected the idea that the cost of using waste transfer stations had become prohibitive.
‘‘If you took all of the cost away, that would be another burden on the ratepayer,’’ he said.
Goff said Aucklanders should factor legal dumping costs into heir budgets when moving or getting rid of household waste.
‘‘I don’t take it as an excuse that because it costs $40 to dump here that thats a license for people to dump their rubbish on the side of the road outside somebody elses place.’’
Aucklanders should report illegal rubbish dumping, he said.