Crackdown on illegal rubbish dumping: Four months and just $4000 in fines

Tuesday, 15 May 2018

Auckland mayor Phil Goff promised to crack down on illegal rubbish dumping after a spate of incidents over summer.

Strong words and the commitment of $200,000 has resulted in just $4000 in fines for illegal dumping in Auckland.

Four months since Auckland mayor Phil Goff declared war on those who dump rubbish illegally, just 21 infringement notices have been issued by the council.

In January, Goff said illegal dumping was a priority issue for the city.

The mayor said it was time to target people dumping stuff because 'they are too bloody lazy or too bloody tight' to pay disposal fees.

**READ MORE:

Sanjay Gounder, enforcement officer for Auckland Council, inspecting rubbish dumping in south Auckland.

* Illegal dumping punishments falling far behind cost of clean-up

* Clean up costs for illegal dumping increasing in Auckland

In January, 28 barrels of oil dumped off Piha Rd in Waitākere ranges.

* All-time low': 28 barrels of oil dumped in West Auckland's Waitākere Ranges

* More oil drums dumped in Waitākere Ranges**

Goff committed an additional $200,000 to manage the illegal dumping issue, which included increased surveillance and investigations.

Numbers released by Auckland Council showed an initial flurry of calls to its 0800 NO DUMP tip-off line, before numbers dropped significantly by mid-May.

Parul Sood, waste planning manager at Auckland Council, said the council had received 1859 tipoffs to the hotline since February.

'Over this time we have issued 21 infringement notices, totalling $4000 worth of fines,' Sood said.

The mayor did not respond to a request for comment by the story's deadline.

Illegal rubbish dumping has been a long-standing problem for Auckland, with clean-up costs increasing to almost $1 million a year.

However, the discovery in January of 28 steel drums dumped in the ecologically sensitive Waitākere Ranges raised the profile of the issue.

The drums contained used oil filters and the oil run-off threatened the upper Nihotupu Reservoir.

More drums were found dumped in the Waitākere Ranges in March.

Piha resident Sarah Munro said the oil drum dumping was still widely talked about in the community.

The council needed to invest more money into investigating these issues, she said.

'They need more money, signage and cameras to tell people it's not OK.'

Auckland Council compliance investigations team manager Kerri Fergusson said the investigation into the dumping of the oil drums was progressing well.

'The process is now in its final stages. We are taking this incident very seriously, and we will share the outcomes of our investigation and any next steps as soon as we can.'

Figures released in February under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act showed 539 fines have been issued for illegal dumping since 2013.

The fines totalled $116,000, or an average of $23,200 per year.