Illegal fly-tippers have opened a new waste and garbage dump site which – according to district council officials – is just “metres along Cape Palliser Road from the biggest site on record,” and one which is already expected to cost $200,000 to clean up.
The latest dump site will add to that initial bill, with the council legally required to clean up this new site “as soon as contractors have enough dry days,” council chief executive Janice Smith said as she confirmed the dump-site find.
“Ratepayers bear the initial cost of the clean-up of illegal rubbish dump sites because councils have a legal mandate to ensure rubbish is removed before it causes irrevocable harm to the environment,” she said in a statement.
“The community and council need to hold dumpers to account for their behaviour and we’re asking people to report all illegal dumping they see…. We want to take action to start recovering cleanup costs from those causing the harm,” Smith added.
Easier said than done according to Hawkes Bay councillor Wendy Schollum, who wants changes to the Litter Act, after it was found that even if a letter with a name on it is located at a fly-tipping site it can’t be used as evidence to fine anyone.
“Even CCTV footage is not enough,” Schollum said. Only a law change could allow legal action by councils to fine fly-tippers to recover costs for cleaning up fouled public and private land, and for causing environmental harm.
“South Wairarapa, the Greater Wellington Regional Council and the Environmental Protection Authority want to collaboratively stop illegal rubbish dumping,” Smith added.
“This would include the investigation of deterrents, such as increasing surveillance at known sites and implementing measures to prevent vehicle access to protect our natural landscape, water safety and marine life.”
Many tonnes of everything from household furniture, wooden and steel rubbish, microwaves and even car bodies have been dumped down the Hurupi River cliff face in recent years.
Officials said the illegal rubbish tipping apparently only halted after concrete blocks were placed over a forestry access track to the clifftops above the river. Then it resumed, recently.
Illegally dumped rubbish typically contains hazardous substances, such as heavy metals, organic compounds and pathogens which can disrupt
aquatic ecosystems, harm wildlife and pose health risks to humans.
High levels of nitrates and phosphates from decomposing organic waste can lead to eutrophication, deplete oxygen in water, kill fish and result in the loss of biodiversity.
Another critical concern is waste washing out to sea during storms or heavy rain. Such debris can pose danger to marine life and humans once in the ocean.
Fishing is popular in the area and there is potential for catches to be contaminated by pollutants fromthe waste.
Tests so far indicate no run-off contamination has occurred at the initial site, first located in January 2024, but the Environmental Protection Agency has instructed the council that it must remove the waste from the formerly pristine landscape.
Leaving the waste at the two sites is not an option. Council notes it could mean hefty fines for the council from the Environment Protection Agency if “anything falls into the river below.”
Officials also warned the “regulatory risk” of the national Environmental Protection Agency serving a clean-up order – “there is a need (read: ‘legal requirement’) to clean-up the illegal dump site, as opposed to leaving it in situ.”
Smith also warned the council has a further enforcement option, in the form of a targeted rate, which “may be considered in the future if this behaviour continues.”
