'3-D' Campaign Planned for Waitaki

From this Friday, 4 June, the Waitaki District Council is stepping up its focus on illegal dumping, with the launch of its “Ditch Dirty Dumping” campaign. "

Solid waste officer, Gerry O’Neill, says the campaign aims to enlist the support of the wider community to tackle the problem of illegal dumping.

“The actions of a few people in the District are costing the rest of us a lot of money. Someone’s got to pay for cleaning up their mess, and that cost falls back on ratepayers. On top of that, dirty dumping creates environmental problems, health hazards and a bad image for visitors to our district”.

“There are already people helping us out by reporting cases of illegal dumping when they find them. I’m sure with even more help from the community, we can ditch dirty dumping altogether.”

Mr O’Neill said most people in the District were getting rid of their rubbish responsibly and recycling as much as possible to keep the cost down, and had a right to be angry with the few who were dumping their waste illegally.

“There is no excuse for this behaviour. A large portion of the material that’s being dumped could have been recycled for no cost. And we’ve also had cases of people dumping rubbish in pre-paid bags. Why would you go to the effort of driving out to the country and risk getting caught when it’s just as cheap and easy to do the right thing?”

When illegal dumpers were caught, the Council had a number of options for making them pay, he said.
“Under the Litter Act we can issue instant fines of up to $400 to offenders, and there is also the option of taking them to court, where in some instances individuals can be fined up to $7500. The offenders can also be charged for the cost of any clean up, which can potentially run into tens of thousands of dollars.”
Mr O’Neill said the Council did not hesitate in taking a hard line with illegal dumpers, and encouraged everyone who had seen a case of dirty dumping, or had found the rubbish they left behind, to contact the Council as soon as they could.

“We always follow up on reports of illegal dumping and have a variety of ways we can trace the offenders. People can rest assured we do everything we can to make the dumpers pay.”

However, Mr O’Neill cautioned people not to put themselves at risk.

“If people can get a registration number, take a photo or provide any other information which might identify the offender that is of course really helpful. But we also don’t want anyone taking unnecessary risks to do this.”

The campaign will incorporate advertising and education directed mainly at those in the community who wanted to see illegal dumping stamped out, with some also targeted at the offenders themselves.