“My whānau and I often volunteer many hours of our own time to clean up this mess which is starting to go into our awa [river].
“It’s also encouraging rats and other animals to eat the scraps.
“Why don’t they make the collection site on the Paewhenua Island side instead? I doubt you would see the rubbish left there for long.”
Taemaro kaitiaki Sandra Heihei said the same issue with illegal rubbish dumping had been occurring on their road for years.
Heihei claimed the rubbish was coming from those outside of Taemaro Road, with some even dumping ceiling fans and other household items.
She said she and her whānau had taken it upon themselves to put their own bins on the road, which had helped reduce the amount of rubbish going into the nearby creek,” Heihei said.
“We all need to take responsibility for what’s going on here.
“The council and Northland Waste need to make sure they are keeping on top of rubbish left around the area.
“From a community perspective, it’s about mahi tahi, working together, and if everyone became caretakers of their area, we would have a beautiful, clean place.”
Under the current waste system, the Far North District Council (FNDC) provides 16 Refuse Transfer Stations and Community Recycling Facilities for the public to take their waste to.
The nearest facility to Kohumaru Road is approximately 12 minutes drive to Taipā.
Kerbside services are not under contract to the FNDC, but to “user pays” services operated by private businesses Northland Waste and Waste Management.
The FNDC stated it had no direct responsibility as collections were undertaken by commercial businesses.
A council spokesperson said the FNDC had considered district-wide kerbside collection, but the cost was “prohibitive” due to the district’s large network of roads and low population densities.
“Independent waste companies provide user-pay kerbside services in areas that are cost-effective,” the spokesperson said.
“The Kohumaru Road collection point is also on a State Highway, which is not within the council’s jurisdiction.”
According to the FNDC, it was the waste companies’ responsibility to nominate kerbside collection points.
Over the years, unofficial collection points had developed at locations (generally intersections) that weren’t otherwise served by waste companies.
The council spokesperson said these collection points had been viewed as a pragmatic waste management solution, with the corner of Kohumaru Rd and SH10 a good example.
“Collection points have worked well, but increasingly people are putting out bags on non-collection days and in non-prepaid bags,” the spokesperson said.
“The result is rubbish remaining uncollected for up to a week which allows rubbish to be spread by animals and the weather.”
In terms of addressing the issue of collection, the council said it had reviewed its Solid Waste Bylaw to require waste companies to erect signage to inform the public of when to place waste at a collection point.
It had also looked at the issue of early- or late-dumped bags, with the public’s alleged preference for waste companies to pick up bags as soon as they were reported.
“Waste companies say this would result in a 24/7 on-call service, which would be unsustainable,” the spokesperson said.
“In response to the bylaw consultation, it was decided that waste companies must clear collection points within four days of rubbish being reported.
“Other collection points have been closed following petitions from the community.”
Residents wanting to close the Kohumaru Rd collection point were advised to raise the issue with their local community board.
Waste-to-Energy a solution?
Waste-to-Energy (WtE) technology is something widely used in other countries and refers to a family of technologies that process some kind of waste material to generate energy.
Different technologies use different waste materials as ‘feedstock’ for the processing plant, producing energy in the form of heat, electricity or fuel.
When asked about introducing this type of waste system to the district, the council spokesperson said WtE was not a viable option.
“It essentially comes down to economics. Landfilling waste is currently the cheapest disposal option for waste that doesn’t have markets as a recyclable,” they said.
“Waste-to-energy plants are very expensive to build and require large volumes of waste to be economically viable, which incurs greater transport costs and transport emissions.
“Even with economies of scale, they are more expensive to operate per ton than current New Zealand landfill costs.”
The FNDC is currently consulting on its Waste Management and Minimisation Plan and is seeking feedback on kerbside collections.
The council’s waste plan is reviewed every seven years, with consultation closing on March 6.
To provide your feedback, visit the FNDC ‘Have Your Say’ page: www.fndc.govt.nz/Whats-new/Have-your-say/Waste-Management-and-Minimisation.
