Rubbish trucks finally arrive to clear piles of waste from flood-damaged street

Thursday, 2 February 2023

Council contractors are finally on the ground cleaning up mess and sodden furniture strewn on a Mt Eden street.

Rubbish trucks have finally arrived in a flood-hit suburb to clear the waste from Friday’s deluge.

Almost a week after the record-setting Auckland rainfalls since January 27, residents have been able to get into their water-logged homes and clear sodden furniture and personal items onto the streets.

At about 9am, two rubbish trucks arrived at Shackleton Rd and began the work of collecting rubbish lining the road, as well as four metal skip bins and five overflowing flexi-waste bags.

And the 10 rubbish crewmen were not alone – a Shackleton Rd resident mucked in to help.

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The resident said his street was flooded up to his chest on Friday evening and he lost his car in the rising waters.

After 18 years in Mt Eden, he’d never seen anything like the weekend’s deluge, he said.

The street smelled damp and musty on Thursday, even as the sun started to come out, and there were insects swarming the piles of rubbish.

Mattresses, chairs, cupboards, plastic and rolls of sodden carpet were piled high on the berms.

Shackleton Rd was severely impacted by the floods. Most homes in the centre of the 1km street have yellow, red and white stickers, meaning there is a range of damage levels across the homes.

Resident Samantha Longley’s home fared OK but her car was completely flooded during the rain, so she couldn’t leave the street for higher ground.

She told Stuff she had no choice but to sit and watch the waters get closer to her and her flatmate, as they hunkered down in fear.

There are two trucks and about 10 men working to clear Shackleton Rd.

The flooding got so bad a camper van practically exploded from being so full of water and a fire truck responding to calls for help got stuck, she said.

She was trying to be patient about the waste problem.

“Everyone is in need. What can you do, it is what it is.”

Meanwhile, Auckland Emergency Management has pulled some levers to make the clean-up easier and more accessible.

There are 15 drop-off facilities all over Auckland where storm-related debris can be taken.

That service is free for people without insurance, and some insurers will allow people to claim back the cost of using the service.

To use these facilities, call Auckland Council on 0800 22 22 00 before you leave to confirm.

But insurers are urging people to contact their insurer first before throwing anything out.

In a statement, Auckland Council’s waste solutions manager Parul Sood said more skip bins are being delivered as demand is high, and bins or bags are usually delivered to requests within 72 hours.

So far 100 skip bins have been delivered to badly affected regions, particularly to help people who don’t have insurance. They are collected and emptied as they fill, Sood said.

There are 20 collection trucks working each day across the region, alongside a number of private operators pitching in.

Next week’s regular rubbish collection will happen a day later than usual due to the Waitangi Day holiday.

The New Zealand Defence Force is also helping the Civil Defence response and has been approached for comment.