Work has begun on fencing off an area on Mountain Road notorious for illegal dumping.

Contractors wearing climbing gear have started removing illegally dumped household waste in preparation for a 1.8m fence that will be built to help stop people dumping rubbish there.

“Most of the rubbish dumped can fit in kerbside wheelie bins with much of it having recycling potential,” says Rotorua Lakes Council Waste and Climate Change Manager, Craig Goodwin.

“It’s disheartening to see how little regard some people have for the consequence of their actions and the disrespect they have not just on the environment, but also the community or neighbourhood where they are dumping the rubbish they have generated. There’s also the cost to the community for cleaning it up and the reputational damage for our beautiful district.”

Ratepayers bear a $175,000 burden to clean and dispose of illegally dumped waste each year and council data shows a third of public litter bins are misused by people who use them to get rid of household rubbish they should be putting in their own bins or taking to transfer stations or the landfill.

This leaves council to dispose of more than 1010 tonnes of rubbish from public bins annually.

Illegal dumping on Mountain Rd.

Craig says inorganic collections, reduced landfill fees and surveillance cameras aren’t the solution to the dirty problem of illegal dumping. It requires behaviour change about the generation of waste and how it’s disposed of.

“Making the landfill free, or giving out landfill tickets would cost significantly more than it does to clean-up illegal dumping each year because someone still has to pay – and the burden would then fall on ratepayers only, rather than it being user pays.

“Inorganic collections (free dumping) have been trialed and abandoned due to the mess they create, the significant cost to the ratepayer and because they’re often abused by people outside of the area. Free dumping also removes the incentive to re-use, repair or recycle.

“We will continue to use cameras to monitor dumping hotspots but it’s important to note there are also costs associated with pursuing legal action.

“The best thing we can do is encourage the community to treasure their environment and simply do the right thing.”

Mountain Rd after clearing. Planting to be completed.

Initial estimates to clear the Mountain Road site (pictured) and install a deer fence are estimated to be around $24,000 due to the challenging nature of retrieving the waste up the slip face.

If you witness illegal dumping, do not approach the offenders but take notes and photos or videos of the person and their vehicle.

Report any dumped rubbish to council at info@rotorualc.nz or 07 348 4199, as soon as possible so contractors can remove it before it’s added to.