Council crackdown on illegal dumping
Published on 08 December 2020
Councillor Rob Vinsen, who heads Whanganui District Council’s Waste Minimisation Advisory Group, is spearheading a campaign to crackdown on illegal rubbish dumping in our district.
Cr Vinsen says while illegal dumping is not unique to Whanganui, it is a growing problem.
“Many people in our community have spoken to me about how infuriating it is to see illegally dumped rubbish in our district,” Cr Vinsen says.
“Encountering a pile of rubbish in the outdoors affects our residents’ enjoyment of life and makes an abysmal impression on national and international visitors exploring our region.
“We’ve responded to residents’ concerns by developing a campaign to tackle this antisocial behaviour head-on.”
He says one important aspect of the campaign is getting the message out that there are now significantly harsher penalties for people who are caught dumping rubbish illegally.
Last year the council increased the illegal dumping infringement fee from $100.00 to $400.00 and illegal dumpers who are caught will be fined to the full extent.
He says in the last six months five people have been issued with infringement notices and each fined $400.00.
Cr Vinsen says technology is making it harder for people to get away with illegal dumping.
“Everyone has a camera on their phone so as a community we can rally around and work together to target this selfish behaviour.
“There’s a fantastic app we’re encouraging people to download called Snap Send Solve. It lets you take a photo of the rubbish and email it to the council, using your phone’s GPS to show exactly where the rubbish is located.”
Cr Vinsen says people can be assured of a quick response from the council when they use Snap Send Solve as the emailed message goes straight to the Customer Services team who log it and refer it on to the relevant team.
“If people think they can continue to get away with illegal dumping they need to think again.”
The Snap Send Solve app is available for iPhone and Android operating systems, and is free to download from the App Store and Google Play.
For information on options for disposing of rubbish in Whanganui, visit the rubbish and recycling page.