'Get Tough' Litter Measures Now Apply

‘Crunch time’ has now arrived for litter bugs in Tararua.

Fed up with districtwide illegal untidiness the council has officially adopted the infringement provisions of the Litter Act in a get tough approach to combat public dumping.
Hefty penalties are now in store for anyone caught in the act or traced later, manager environmental services Mike Brown warns.

Depositing litter of less than one litre by volume – a takeaway container or the contents of a car ashtray for example – will earn a fine of $100.

Fines increase to $200 for litter from 1 - 20 litres as in roadside dumping of a disposable nappy, a 1.5 litre plastic container or the placement of household rubbish bags in public litter bins.

Further up the scale – litter from 20 – 120 litres by volume and including depositing waste in a public green place will attract a $300 fine.

Examples include roadside dumping of small volumes of household or green waste, any pest plant material or depositing any waste in a reserve.

Hazardous waste is at the top end of the scale incurring a $400 penalty and applying to a litter volume of more than 120 litres. Examples are the dumping of commercial waste, multiple disposable nappies, car parts, glass, e-waste or animal remains.
Last month the council signalled its intentions by closing the popular Poplar Reserve in Pahiatua to vehicles.
Also in the pipeline are signs and mobile surveillance cameras to help identify the culprits.
And cleaning up doesn’t come cheap with more than $3,600 spent by the end of March 2010.