War on illegal rubbish dumpers

Strong words and the commitment of $200,000 has resulted in just $4000 in fines for illegal dumping in Auckland.

Four months since Auckland mayor Phil Goff declared war on those who dump rubbish illegally, just 21 infringement notices have been issued by the council.

In January, Goff said illegal dumping was a priority issue for the city.

The mayor said it was time to target people dumping stuff because ‘‘they are too bloody lazy or too bloody tight’’ to pay disposal fees. ‘‘I’m sick and tired of it,’’ he said. Goff committed an additional $200,000 to manage the illegal dumping issue, which included increased surveillance and investigations.

Numbers released by Auckland Council showed an initial flurry of calls to its 0800 NO DUMP tip-off line, before numbers dropped significantly by midMay.

Parul Sood, waste planning manager at Auckland Council, said the council had received 1859 tipoffs to the hotline since February.

‘‘Over this time we have issued 21 infringement notices, totalling $4000 worth of fines,’’ Sood said.

The mayor did not respond to a request for comment on the council’s efforts to tackle the issue.

Illegal rubbish dumping has been a long-standing problem for Auckland, with clean-up costs increasing to almost $1 million a year.

Figures released in February under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act showed 539 fines have been issued for illegal dumping since 2013.

The fines totalled $116,000, or an average of $23,200 per year.