More oil drums dumped in Waitākere Ranges

Monday, 19 March 2018

Auckland Council is investigating after more oil drums were discovered dumped in the Waitākere Ranges.

The drums were discovered at two sites in the regional forest over the weekend.

This is the second time oil drums containing oil filters have been dumped in the ecologically sensitive area this year.

Piha local Martin Mehaffy said people in the beachside community were angry that someone was using the rural location as an illegal waste ground. 

**READ MORE:

* 'All-time low': 28 barrels of oil dumped in West Auckland's Waitākere Ranges**

*** Auckland mayor Phil Goff wants people who dump rubbish to be punished

* Clean up of oil drums dumped in Waitākere Ranges costs ratepayers $20,000

* Illegal dumping punishments falling far behind cost of clean-up**

'This is not opportunistic. This is someone who is deliberately doing this,' he said.

Mehaffy saw the drums discarded on the side of the road on Sunday evening. 

Ratepayers would have to cover the cost of the dumper's actions, he said.

'Mayor Phil Goff has laid down the law in terms of illegal dumping. Lets see if he holds to it.'

The weekend's dumping of oil drums was similar to an unsolved illegal dump in January.

In the first week of 2018, 28 oil drums were discovered in a car park in the Waitākere Ranges.

Run-off from the drums threatened the upper Nihotupu Reservoir, which would have contaminated the local water supply. 

The clean up of the dump sites, which included removing part of the car park to prevent soil contamination, cost ratepayers $20,000.

The mayor has promised a crack down on illegal dumping, including harsher penalties for serial dumpers and more resources for teams investigating the illegal dump sites.

At the time, the mayor said it was time to target 'people dumping stuff on the side of the road because they are too bloody lazy or too bloody tight to pay the cost of disposing of it properly'.

He committed an additional $200,000 to managing the illegal dumping issue, which included increased surveillance in problem areas. 

In the 2016/2017 financial year, 1300 tonnes of rubbish was dumped illegally, costing Auckland ratepayers around $1 million per year to clean up.

However, figures released under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act show 539 fines issued and just 10 prosecutions for illegal dumping since 2013.

During that same period, fines totalled $116,000, or an average of $23,200 per year.