Higgins driver dumped waste at Foxton Beach

A beach cleanup is being carried out by a contractor after truckloads of waste were dumped on Foxton Beach, about 50 kilometres west of Palmerston North. On Friday, a couple walking near the surf club watched a Higgins truck drive on to the beach, then dump a load of ‘‘soil and cuttings’’ on the water line at low tide. Palmerston North resident David Wheller said he was so stunned he asked the driver what he was doing. He was told the council had given permission and then watched the driver return with a second truckload, which he added to the first pile on the sand. ‘‘It looked like some sort of compost or weeds and sand and dirt and stuff you’d scrape off the ground. There was bottles in it and all sorts of bits and pieces,’’ Wheller said. ‘‘There were girls with horses there and other people on the beach.’’ Wheller was so disturbed by what he saw he complained to two local councils. Horowhenua District Council interim manager of infrastructure services Rob Green said staff investigated and the contractor was supposed to dispose of the material at an approved dump site – the beach was not one of them. ‘‘Higgins has been contacted and asked to remove any of the material remaining,’’ Green said. He supplied a statement from Higgins which said the dumping was caused by a misunderstanding. Some of the material, amassed from kerb clearance work, had also been dumped at the river. ‘‘We are very sorry this has taken place and have put in place better briefing procedures to ensure this doesn’t happen again,’’ the statement said. Higgins will do a ‘‘beach cleanup’’ 200 metres each side of the surf club. Horizons Regional Council consents monitoring leader Pita Kinaston said the material dumped was not expected to cause any damage to the environment but an abatement notice would be issued to Higgins.