Asbestos, needles found among Fox River waste as efforts ramp up

Tuesday, 9 July 2019

The New Zealand Defence Force have joined the effort to clear over 5000 tonnes of rubbish from the Fox River and West Coast.

Volunteers clearing rubbish on the West Coast have found asbestos, medical waste and containers with 'unknown liquids'.

The first wave of defence force personnel joined the Fox River race against time to clear rubbish from some of New Zealand's most pristine wilderness spots.

More than 2000ha of West Coast beach is littered with rubbish after a disused landfill was washed down the Fox River in heavy rain.

Rubbish was strewn across 1620 hectares of the river bed after a storm in March exposed a disused landfill.

Department of Conservation incident controller Owen Kilgour said volunteers had identified asbestos, medical waste, needles, and containers with unknown liquids among the debris.

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Volunteers were briefed about how to identify hazards, Kilgour said.

If they came across anything potentially dangerous they let DOC staff know, and specialised staff removed the items.

About 5500 tonnes of rubbish washed downstream and has been seen on the coast as far north as Okarito, and south to Martins Bay in Fiordland.

The disaster has been described as New Zealand's 'worst ecological disaster since the Rena oil spill'.

The Westland District Council and local volunteers attempted the initial clean up but Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage announced on June 19 that the Government would take the lead.

Kilgour said the department has been offering to feed and house volunteers, with the number of volunteers increasing from about 10 a day to 80.

'We are treating this with the utmost urgency and will get the situation sorted as fast as we can.'

Volunteers had removed 50 tonnes of rubbish and the Defence Force was already helping transport volunteers to and from the site and collect rubbish bags, he said.

The plan was to complete the clean up in the river bed, the most seriously affected area, before spring rains hit making it too dangerous for volunteers to work and wash the left over rubbish out to sea.

'The plastic and other waste would be transported into the seas where they would be a potential threat to marine and bird life,' he said.

Fur seals, Hector's dolphins and seabirds, including albatross, petrels, little blue penguins, and Fiordland crested penguins/tawaki, could be affected.

He was confident the department could continue to attract the high numbers of volunteers.

'People are very motivated to want to come and support this. They believe in what they're doing.

'With the progress we're making now we're confident we will be able to clear those areas but there are potential threats, mostly in the form of bad weather.'

More specialised people would be flown to the key coastal areas to collect rubbish there.

The defence force plans to send up to 70 personnel, vehicles and aircraft are being to support the clean-up, in several waves.

The main contingent of defence force personnel will deploy on 22 July and work with DOC staff and volunteers until late August.

People can sign up to help with the clean up at www.doc.govt.nz/operation-tidy-fox-volunteer