15 April 2024

Media: Rotorua Daily Post

Topic: Illegal dumping in Wrigley Road

Enquiry

I'm just putting this one together this morning and a resident in Fordlands said the incident showed there was a need for a free and accessible dumping site as so many locals flooded to dumb their rubbish on the street.

She said perhaps the council could look at a free dump day or even a half price week as an incentive for people to clean up their properties and legally dump their rubbish.

Is this something the council would consider?

My foggy memory recalls this used to happen years ago but I could be wrong.

Could I ask someone to just respond to that suggestion?

Response

From Group Manager Infrastructure and Environment – Stavros Michael:

Council has no plans to explore free or subsidised dumping because these initiatives require funding, which can be expensive, messy and can lead to more problems than they solve.

Currently no councils in New Zealand offer this type of service because, in the past, it has led to issues like people from other districts dumping rubbish in those areas, similar to what happened at Wrigley Road after it was posted on social media.

Throughout the country, the public typically opposes having a landfill in their district due to concerns about its environmental impacts on land, air, and water. Landfilling space is limited and expensive to maintain. This is one of the reasons we advocate so strongly for people to minimise the waste they create and recycle more. Currently we transport our waste to the nearest landfill which is 150km away in Tirohia in the Hauraki District, this also results in added haulage costs.

Rotorua Lakes Council isn't alone in grappling with these challenges; other councils also contend with the need to transport rubbish over long distances. In essence, landfilling proves costly, and suitable landfill sites are scarce.