Rubbish solutions from the council attempt to prevent illegal dumping

Auckland council is copping heat from South Auckland locals about their response to cleaning up illegally dumped rubbish along Takanini School Road.

The road is just over 1.5 kilometers in length and has a stream alongside that people regularly use to discard rubbish such as tyres, clothes, mattresses and dead animals.

The council have responded to complaints and done a clean-up of Takanini School Road, but locals are still adamant that this is only a short-term solution.

According to South Auckland local Rodney Dunn, this strip of road has been a hotspot for illegal dumpers for a very long time.

“I’ve lived in this area for 20 years and the rubbish dumping has been going on ever since I’ve been here.”

Mr Dunn founded the Facebook Page Stop the Rubbish, to spread awareness regarding the mistreatment of our environment.

He says the council still don’t know what the solution is and have only recently installed a surveillance camera in the area as a way to fix the problem.

The council do have fines in place for illegal rubbish dumping, ranging from $100 for first-time offences and up to $400 for subsequent offences.

Mr Dunn says the fine serves no purpose and doesn’t deter anyone from dumping rubbish.

“What’s $100 when you probably have to pay that much when you have to take your rubbish to the tip anyway.”

Takanini School Road resident Rafael Costales says the dumping only adds to the negative connotations South Auckland already has.

“Having people leave their rubbish along my street is just so sad and it adds to the stigma associated with South Auckland.”

Mr Costales believes people do get creative and sneaky when it comes to dumping their rubbish during early hours of the morning and this is what the council needs to focus on.

“If the council provides designated people to patrol areas like Takanini School Road, then maybe it will scare people off from illegally dumping their rubbish.”

Mr Dunn also believes it is hard to catch the offenders since the time they dump rubbish is at night.

“The biggest problem is you’ve got to catch them and that’s really difficult because these people are like rodents – they only come out at night time.”

Another frustrated local resident Fini Hanfiro, who has sisters who previously attended the primary school, says rubbish prevalent on the road normalises dumping and sets a bad example for school kids who see it.

“It normalises the act the act that people can dump anything anywhere and there will be no consequences.”

Mr Dunn says since the council has cleaned up Takanini School Road people have been quick to ruin the area by dumping their rubbish.