The chronic issue of fly-tipping on Tasman’s riversides continues to rear its head across the district.
Since June 2024, the district council has spent almost $14,000 to clean up rubbish by the river, with recent finds including a discarded engine and trailer, and even a hut built out of pallets.
“That’s not the most impressive structure we’ve had down there,” Rob Smith, council’s group manager for environmental science, told councillors last week.
“We’ve actually had one with a flat screen TV and lights.”
Other common items dumped on roadsides and riverbeds included animal carcasses, mattresses, whiteware, and furniture.
Some residents might enjoy their temporary riverside bungalows but they come at a cost to the district.
In 2018/19, the council spent $12,600 collecting litter and $19,000 for material dumped by rivers, although those figures didn’t account for dumping in coastal areas.
In contrast, it cost $45,000 to collect litter in 2023/24, while $100,000 was needed for material dumped on riversides.
However, the high latter cost was largely driven by the need to remove fill and waste that appeared to have been dumped by a contractor given its commercial scale, rather than a spike of incidents that year.
Aside from the cost of clean-up, which is covered by the council’s waste management budget, the work occupies contractor time and resources that would otherwise be focused on rivers.
Over the last six years, the cost of dumping material at one of Tasman’s resource recovery centres climbed 126%, from $159 per tonne to almost $361, far outstripping inflation of 25% over that same time.
A council spokesperson said that increasing government waste levies, rising costs to provide services, and a shift to a user-pays rather than a ratepayer-subsidised service contributed to the price increase beyond inflation.
“We have attempted to meet any increases by providing free drop off for items such as batteries and gas cylinders. Vehicle tyres can also be dropped off at no cost under the national Tyrewise scheme.”
Despite the rising fees, Smith didn’t think the cost of dumping was the problem.
“It’s slovenly behaviour by individuals who disrespect our environment … I think it’s disgusting,” he said.
“Some of the pictures you’ll see are people who … have driven past the dump to get there, so they’re spending petrol to get there. It’s a state of mind.”
One Nelson scrap metal buyer contacted by Local Democracy Reporting wasn’t able to determine the exact amount the engine could be sold for as scrap, but said, once drained of oil, it would fetch 20 cents per kilogram, or $2000 per tonne.
Smith said there was “quite a bit of work” being undertaken to catch the culprits but the council was unable to recoup most of the costs.
In most cases, the council issued infringement notices rather than prosecuting as the latter required a “heavy burden of proof” beyond, for example, an addressed envelope in the dumped trash, as had been found before.
“Video evidence of the deed taking place would be valuable,” the spokesperson said.
The maximum infringement cost for littering was $400, while prosecution through the court system could reach fines of up to $20,000.
Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
