Council to jump on illegal littering

Roadside recycling is becoming a headache for the council, said solid waste operations engineer, Murray Kliskey. Photo / John Borren

A growing trend for Tauranga residents to leave unwanted furniture on the kerbside, in the hope someone will see their trash as treasure, is adding to the city's illegal dumping issues.

Tauranga City Council solid waste operations engineer Murray Kliskey told the Bay of Plenty Times that staff were increasingly dealing with furniture people had put out on their berms to give away for free.

"Unclaimed items tend to migrate further down the road and effectively become illegally dumped rubbish. We are happy for people to give away old furniture but we are asking them to take responsibility for it if it doesn't get collected."

While the method of dumping may have changed, Mr Kliskey said the amount of illegally dumped rubbish in the urban areas had been fairly consistent over the past five years. "It's not getting any better but it's not getting any worse," he said.

Tauranga City and Western Bay of Plenty District Councils are responsible for illegally dumped rubbish on public land and Bay of Plenty Regional Council deals with dumping in waterways and riparian strips along rivers, streams and wetlands.

The average annual cost to city ratepayers for callouts and responses to complaints of illegally dumped rubbish was $30,000. This was for rubbish including whiteware, sofas and smaller bits of loose litter, Mr Kliskey told the Bay of Plenty Times.

Tauranga City team leader bylaws and parking Stuart Goodman said staff attended reports of illegal dumping in an attempt to identify offenders.

"We have successfully used CCTV (which happened to be operating in the vicinity of the dump site) to identify offenders and enforcement officers proactively monitor the city in relation to these offences."

Mr Goodman said staff spoke to neighbouring residents and the local community to try to identify the culprits and inspected the dumped rubbish looking for links to its "owner".

Western Bay of Plenty District Council utilities manager Kelvin Hill said having a maintenance contractor clean up illegally dumped rubbish cost Western Bay ratepayers between $40,000 and $60,000 each year.

"Signage around the district at various known dumping sites indicates that a $500 penalty can be imposed on illegal dumping if there is sufficient evidence to prosecute."

Staff use letterbox pamphlet drops - particularly at dumping hot spots - to try to deter illegal dumpers and work with community groups and employers to educate residents.

"Some new residents don't realise that rubbish collection is user pays in the Western Bay, some leave their rubbish bags out at the wrong times or receive incorrect or outdated information from landlords.

"The reporting of illegal dumping of 'official' green bags to the council is referred to the contractor Environmental Green Bins."

Staff attempt to identify who the rubbish belongs to and get the "owner" to clean it up or pay a fine to cover the cost of removal, Mr Hill said.

"Council relies on the public to continue to speak up and for communities to stand together to stop this from happening in their neighbourhoods, especially in remote areas," Mr Hill told the Bay of Plenty Times.

Cameras to help nab illegal dumpers were trialled by Western Bay Council in 2012, but were removed the following year.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council declined to comment on what methods were used to try to link illegally dumped rubbish to those responsible, as this may assist illegal dumpers.

Illegal rubbish dumping facts

By the numbers

Tauranga City Council:

July 2013 to June 2014 - 65 tonnes of illegal rubbish.
July 2014 to January 2015 - 35 tonnes of illegal rubbish.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council:

Reports of illegal dumping:

2009 - 474
2010 - 445
2011 - 405
2012 - 350
2013 - 353
2014 - 415
2015 - 59 (so far)

Bay of Plenty Regional Council:

Reports of illegal dumping:

124 between 2010 and 2012.
96 between 2013 and 2014
Eight in 2015 to date.

Recent prosecutions

Bay of Plenty Regional Council:

November 2013 - Te Puna business Contour Ltd (owned by Stephen Miller) was fined $16,400 for illegally disposing of demolition waste, including burning cladding containing asbestos.

May 2014 - "C" Side Services Ltd (owned by Stephen Craig Walling) was fined $67,687. The fine included $22,687 for asbestos disposal, $22,000 for clearing a special ecological area in Otumoetai and $23,000 for illegal filling.

- Tauranga City Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council did not prosecute anyone between 2011 and 2015.

The consequences

Tauranga City Council can issue fines ranging from $100 to $400 under council bylaw. National legislation is available for more serious offences under the Litter Act 1979. Where offenders are identified the council will issue warning notices and educate offenders to prevent re-offending.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council can issue fines of $300 to $750 - for individuals caught dumping rubbish in waterways or riparian areas - rising to $1000 for industrial or trade premises.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council can issue fines of up to $500 under the Litter Act 1979.