Whanganui District Council hit with high levels of illegal rubbish dumping at rural sites

The Ngaturi rural rubbish site on Mangamahu Rd was hit with 10 full fadge bags just after Waitangi Day.

Illegal rubbish dumping at three rural Whanganui sites is rife, with the district council urging residents to watch out for potential perpetrators.

A report from the council’s property and open places waste officer John Sula said rural rubbish collection sites at Kauarapaoa Rd, Te Hue Rd and Ngaturi on Mangamahu Rd were prone to high levels of dumping at times.

During a Whanganui Rural Community Board meeting on Wednesday, Sula said the council needed evidence to issue infringement notices.

“That could be photos or descriptions of who these people are,” he said.

“Anybody driving up with a trailer that has a lot of stuff on it, that should send some alarm bells.

“What is acceptable is household rubbish for that particular week.”

Sula’s report said illegal dumping at the Te Hue Rd site was less frequent but, when it was targeted, it could “only be described as enormous”.

It had cost about $1500 to clear and dispose of one recent pile.

During deliberations on the council’s long-term plan last week, Whanganui district councillors voted to keep the rural service which costs $175,000 a year.

That figure is only for the service and does not include dealing with illegal dumping across the district.

There are 13 rural rubbish sites, with seven on the Whanganui River Rd serviced fortnightly, five serviced weekly and the site at Kaiwhaiki Rd serviced monthly.

Bags must be no larger than 60 litres and have a pre-paid white sticker attached.

Council litter team leader Ross Hudson said while it was not every day, staff tried to inspect the rural sites as often as possible.

Old fences, dog houses, beds, mattresses and a lot of recyclable items had been found, he said.

“At Kauarapaoa Rd, we did witness a person attempting to drop off a couch.

“I caught up with him and reiterated that it is for household waste and not couches and fridges and freezers. He was pretty good about it.”

A total of 4559 rubbish bags were dropped at the Brunswick site between April 4, 2023, and May 14 this year and 2569 were non-compliant. Photo / Bevan Conley

Hudson said he believed the community was the solution to the problem of people from urban areas dumping rubbish.

“They can report by calling up the council and providing pictures of offenders that are not local.

“We do need pictures or video of a person dumping, and ideally a number plate, in order to contact them so a fine can be issued.”

The infringement fee for illegal dumping in the Whanganui District is $400 - the maximum the council can charge under the 1979 Litter Act.

Sula’s report said council staff discovered 10 full fadge bags containing “event disposables’ at the Ngaturi site just after Waitangi Day.

The bags contained hundreds of used coffee cups, drink bottles and cans, food catering containers and a large quantity of food vendor wholesale used containers.

A number of broken fold-up camping chairs and gazebos were “placed semi-tidily at the side of the rural bins”.

“The waste team followed up with an investigation and made contact with all the points of contact of the publicised events held within the Rangitīkei region on and around Waitangi Day,” the report said.

“Unfortunately, we were unable to locate the owners of the rubbish.

“We do believe, however, that by highlighting this, word of mouth will have sounded a warning.”

The report said three infringement notices had been issued at the Ngaturi site this year.

Rural Community Board member Judd Bailey said people were “hearing of dumpers everywhere around Whanganui” but not much about action taken by the council.

“When was the last time we saw any action or any enforcement?” he said.

“I would certainly like to see at least one good public lesson as an example.”

Meanwhile, non-compliance at the peri-urban drop-off site at Brunswick remains high, with a high volume of unbagged rubbish.

Sula’s reports said a total of 4559 rubbish bags were dropped off there between April 4, 2023, and May 14 this year, with 58 per cent (2569) being non-compliant.

Bobcat services were required on two occasions, with one infringement notice and three warnings being issued.

From August 30, 2022, until January 10, 2023, an average of 68 per cent of the bags at the site did not have a pre-paid sticker.

The Kaimatira Rd peri-urban site - decommissioned on January 12 - had a 63.41 per cent non-compliance rate between April 4, 2023, and January 9 this year.

That site has been replaced with a rubbish bag drop-off/pick-up site at an undisclosed location.

Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.