6 February 2017

Media: Rotorua Daily Post

Topic: Rubbish dumped on Mountain Road

Inquiry

e are running a story tomorrow about dumped rubbish up Mountain Rd (Again!)

I've got comment from Charles Sturt around what a disgrace it is and what a problem is but wanted to give council the opportunity to comment too. Understand it is a public holiday so not imperative we get comment, but if we can that would be good.

- How much of a problem is rubbish dumping up Mountain Rd, and in other areas of Rotorua?

- What is the council doing to try to prevent it?

- I understand there have been cameras in place up Mountain Rd

- have these had any impact?

- Does the council believe the problem is getting worse?

Response

Response from Rotorua Lakes Council's Transport and Waste Solutions director, Stavros Michael

Council, through its contractors, frequently monitors Mountain Road, where illegal dumping is unfortunately problematic. Dumped rubbish that can be readily removed is taken away immediately but in some cases workers have to take extra safety precautions such as wearing harnesses to be able to retrieve rubbish that's gone down banks.

It is very disappointing that there are people in our community who consciously think it's alright to dump there rubbish. In an effort to prevent future dumping along this road, we always encourage people to keep Rotorua beautiful by doing the right thing and by disposing of their rubbish responsibly. However some individuals seem to ignore these messages and we are currently trialling dedicated surveillance equipment elsewhere. If these trials are successful we will deploy this technology at Mountain Road and will pursue prosecutions of offenders.

We are planning a major clean-up of the areas in the near future to prepare for surveillance programmes.