Trash is piled up beneath warning signs reading "No illegal dumping". Photo / Malisha Kumar
Trash is piled up beneath warning signs reading "No illegal dumping". Photo / Malisha Kumar
Residents in a Hamilton street are fed up with people dumping their rubbish in a big pile and leaving it for others to clean up.
A small mountain of rubbish frequently builds up beneath a tree at the southern end of Peachgrove Road, in Hamilton East.
Following a tip-off from a local resident, a reporter from the Waikato Herald went along to have a look and found a pile of illegally-dumped rubbish.
Rotten vegetables, empty alcohol bottles, and bags full of garbage were placed directly beneath two Hamilton City Council signs reading “No illegal dumping, offenders will be prosecuted”.
The resident did not want to be named but said the illegal dumping had been going on for years, blocking driveways, and making the space look “very disgusting”.
They believed the dumping was being done by tenants of one of the Kāinga Ora properties adjacent to the rubbish pile but Kāinga Ora says the evidence points elsewhere.
The pile of rubbish outside a Kāinga Ora-owned site, on 16 Peachgrove Rd, Hamilton East. Photo / Malisha Kumar
Kāinga Ora regional director for Waikato Mark Rawson said they were aware of the ongoing issue of illegal dumping on Peachgrove Rd, but investigations suggested it was not their tenants.
“The council investigates illegal dumping, working to determine who is responsible, and prosecute offenders.
“Investigations have shown that the majority of dumping on this site is done from cars driving past, which makes enforcement challenging. The most recent investigation showed that rubbish dumped here came from households outside the city.”
The neighbour wanted prosecution action to be taken against the offenders as the signs suggest.
Rawson said as the landowner, they worked closely with the council to try and reduce illegal dumping onsite.
“We have put in more signage and additional fencing, and had ongoing communications with our tenants who live nearby to ensure they understand it is illegal to dump rubbish there.
Kāinga Ora's regional director for Waikato, Mark Rawson. Photo / Kāinga Ora
“Up until the end of last year, we sometimes provided skip bins to help people responsibly dispose of excess rubbish, but we have not made any recent commitments to supply these.”
He said they supported the council in prosecuting anyone found to be illegally dumping rubbish.
“Additionally, if any of our tenants were identified as offenders, we would issue section 56 notices requiring them to rectify the situation.”
The council’s Operate and Maintain unit director Tania Hermann said they received one or two reports of illegal dumping near the Peachgrove Rd address every month.
She said the signage was installed three years ago to support education around illegal dumping in the area.
“We will investigate to see if there is evidence pointing to those responsible for the dumping,” Hermann said.
Evidence could include an eye witness, photo, video footage, or documentation found in the rubbish.
“If an offender is identified, fines can be issued and range from $200 to $400 depending on the severity of the issue. In extreme cases, we may look at prosecution.”
Piles of illegally-dumped rubbish. Photo / Malisha Kumar
She said in most cases of illegal dumping, a report was logged and referred to the council’s contractor to remove.
“As the illegal dumping is predominantly on private property, in this case, council liaises with the property owners who arrange for the removal of the rubbish. The cost for removal is paid for by the property owners.”
Alternatively, Hermann said there were other options for Hamiltonians to dispose of rubbish.
“People can take excess rubbish to the Lincoln Street Resource Recovery Centre. While there is a charge for general rubbish, there are lots of free options for items such as recycling, glass, food waste, electrical waste, batteries and whiteware.
