Ratepayers foot bill for rubbish dumped along South Wairarapa coast
Photo:
Emily Ireland
Ratepayers will foot the $145,000 bill to to remove 26 tonnes of illegally dumped rubbish along on the South Wairarapa Coast.
Environmental Protection Authority, police and specialist contractors needed more than two weeks to clean up waste dumped along the coast, which included 3.7 tonnes of scrap metal - bikes, whiteware and even a car.
The clean-up was an urgent recommendation from the Environmental Protection Authority.
"The overall cost came in at approximately $145,000, which is about $50,000 less than originally forecast," said South Wairarapa District Council chief executive Janice Smith.
Rubbish is removed from the South Wairarapa coastline.
Photo:
Supplied/SWDC
Smith said people dumping this amount of rubbish was "enormously irresponsible and disappointing", as items like bikes and whiteware can be disposed of at transfer stations for no cost.
The council said illegal dumping was a serious issue, as it could pose a serious health issue, when it contained harmful materials, such as glass, metal and hazardous matter.
It said the clean-up process also ended up being expensive for both the council and ratepayers, and on the environment, with abandoned waste damaging ecosytems, polluting airways and harming wildlife.
The site is now permanently blocked off, with security cameras in place to monitor it.
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