Spate of illegal dumping and fires around Puketapu

BURNT OUT: The Hawke's Bay Regional Council is concerned about people illegally dumping rubbish and burning it, such as this pile found in the Puketapu area.

People are continuing to illegally dump rubbish, and this week the Hawke's Bay Regional Council raised concerns about reports of people dumping rubbish and setting fire to it in the Puketapu area.

Members of the public and HBRC staff had discovered piles of burnt out appliances near the Tutaekuri River, behind the Taradale Transfer Station and also further down near Dartmoor Road.

HBRC engineering officer for rivers Vince Byrne said he thought the culprits may be burning the appliances to access the copper to sell.

"Not only are they leaving unsightly rubbish piles, they are creating a huge fire risk by lighting these fires in such dry conditions," Mr Byrne said.

The problem of illegal rubbish dumping was not a new one.

In June last year, it was reported that most Hawke's Bay's local councils were struggling to catch offenders behind hundreds of cases of illegal dumping in the region.

The Hawke's Bay Regional Council logged 47 instances of rubbish and car dumping in the year to April 31, 2016, and Mr Byrne said there would have been hundreds of dumpings in hundreds of locations throughout the region during that time, when small items were included.

He said dumping occurred at every access point to rivers across the entire region.

"One of our main problems is catching people," he said.

The council had tried using cameras but they could cover only one location and these had been stolen in the past.

The Central Hawke's Bay District Council dealt with 36 instances of illegally dumped rubbish over the same time frame.

In 17 cases, staff had sifted through the rubbish and found either letters or correspondence bearing names and addresses, with those responsible invoiced $150.

In Hastings to June 2016 there had been 72 cases, and fines ranging from $100 to $200 could apply if the dumpers were caught.

Mr Byrne said if anyone had information about illegal dumping they should contact the regional council's pollution hotline on 0800 108 838.