Fly tipping goes way of rising dump fees

Rising Tokoroa landfill fees are costing ratepayers more than they may think.

South Waikato District Council parks and reserves manager Phil Parker said rising fees, which increased from $149 to $249 per tonne in March 2019, have resulted in a ‘‘noticeable’’ increase in large quantities of illegal dumping.

‘‘It has become a regular occurrence over the past year since the increased landfill charges. It is very noticeable,’’ he said.

‘‘We have had far more going into our reserves than there used to be. Before it would be now and then but lately it has been at least every two months. A lot of stuff is just being found dumped. Sometimes household rubbish, sometimes green waste and debris.’’

Parker said it’s coming at a hefty cost.

‘‘From March we have spent about $2700 cleaning up,’’ he said.

Councillor Peter Schulte said it was concerning.

‘‘I am concerned that with the dump chargers going up we then have to pick it up on the other end spending [more money],’’ he said.

Assets group manager Ted Anderson said while costs were rising, the council was also making improvements to facilities.

‘‘As we are investing in assets there are additional facilities that come with that,’’ he said.

‘‘For example at the Tokoroa Youth Park there used to be very small bins that overflowed frequently so we have increased the size and the frequency that they are emptied.

‘‘As we have put in the skate park we have got a facility that now needs to be looked after and maintained that we previously didn’t have, similarly with the Memorial Sports Ground.

‘‘In a way we have actually increased levels of service so there will be an associated cost to that’’.

Mayor

Jenny

Shattock suggested it could be time for the council to ‘‘start getting down heavy’’ on fly tippers, noting that council staff have previously searched through rubbish to identify offenders.

The council is set to close the Tokoroa Landfill this year due to it nearing capacity and its resource consent expiring.

It will be replaced with a $1.96 million transfer station. The average annual cost over five years to transport waste out of the town will cost ratepayers $2.4 million.