A carcass dumped on Bennington St on Monday. PHOTO/PAM GRAHAM
PAM GRAHAM
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The illegal dumping of 22 bags of rubbish on Kibblewhite Rd in Masterton prompted Masterton distict councillor John Dalziell to highlight the issue of fly-tipping at an infrastructural services committee meeting this week.
He said the bags of rubbish were dumped outside his neighbour’s gate last week.
A week earlier, a trailer load of household material, including mattresses and chairs, was dumped further up the road.
Dalziell asked if the council had a policy on the illegal dumping of rubbish, and also whether it should be sending out a public message to discourage the practice.
The issue was raised after dog walkers and children walking to school were confronted by a sheep carcass on Bennington St on Monday.
The council was advised of the dumped waste at 7.20am on Monday.
The council’s manager assets and operations, David Hopman, said fly-tipping was a problem throughout the country
“We in Masterton are fortunate it is not as big an issue as in some other territorial authorities around the country
“However, things do happen – we do have it occurring.”
He says the council has a policy of trying to identify who has illegally dumped rubbish and had put cameras in trouble spots.
“We have infringed people when we can, but it is very hard,” he said.
“Yes, we have a policy and we do go after people.”
He says the council encourages people to report anyone who is fly-tipping.
Fly-tipping, is the dumping of waste illegally instead of using an authorised method such as kerbside collection or using an authorised rubbish dump.
Meanwhile, a report to the committee provided an update on the improvements under way to kerbside recycling services and an upcoming public information campaign encouraging people to only recycle plastics numbered one and two.
Wheelie bins will be delivered in July to Wairarapa households that receive a kerbside recycling service, with collections to start in August.
The council says recycling service will be cleaner and smarter and fly-away rubbish will be reduced, as the wheelie bins come with a clip to hold down the lid.
Users will also get access to real-time updates on recycling pick-up.
The 240 litre bins provide an additional 140 litres of recycling capacity per fortnight. Each bin has a smart tag in case it goes missing.
The three Wairarapa district councils were made aware in May that a market for recycling plastics, stamped with numbers three to seven, was unlikely to become available in the near or medium future.
A public information campaign will be launched later this month to help people recognise the different plastics.
The same is happening on the corner of Skeets Road and Totara Park Drive. Have reported it but no one is acting. We have to clean the mess.
Where you wheely bin?
What if you already have wheelie bins?