Dumping at Shotover Delta ‘despicable’
COUNCIL staff are investigating concerns about widespread illegal rubbish dumping at Queenstown’s Shotover Delta.
Burntout cars, smashed TVs, broken fridges, and piles of household rubbish have all been spotted at the picturesque Queenstown walking track, by the Shotover River.
Frequent visitor Karyn Duncan says it is ‘‘disgusting’’.
Mrs Duncan, who takes her two dogs down to the Delta for a walk most mornings, said illegal dumping had been happening regularly for a long time.
Two dumped children’s car seats had been there for about two years, she believed.
‘‘I don’t know what’s in people’s head that they think they can just come down here when it’s an area that’s used frequently. ‘‘It’s quite despicable.’’
She knew of one woman who took her dog to the vet after it ate some rubbish down there. She would no longer take her dogs there.
Queenstown Lakes District Council communications adviser Campbell Weal said the council took a ‘‘very dim view’’ of illegal rubbish dumping.
‘‘The dumping of rubbish along the Delta is an ongoing issue and it is disappointing to see people treating such a beau tiful area with flagrant disregard.’’
Calls since January about illegally dumped rubbish in the area were all dealt with, he said. When contractors collected illegally dumped rubbish they tried to find evidence of who had dumped it, he said.
‘‘This information is passed on to our regulatory team, who can issue infringements when they have evidence of people acting irresponsibly.’’
The regulatory team would be contacted about the burnt cars, he said.
It was unclear if the land was council or Crown land, he said.
Earlier this year, Mountain Scene reported illegal dumping cost ratepayers $6300 between July 2017 and April this year.
Two people were fined during that period, at $400 each.