Bags of household rubbish have been illegally discarded next to a "No Dumping" sign near a track in the Far North
Six bags filled with trash – including empty bourbon cans, biscuit wrappers and a face mask – were dumped at the Dalton Track car park off Kerikeri Inlet Rd in Kerikeri last weekend, the Far North District Council said today on social media.
The rubbish joined a litany of discarded bottles and packaging already dotting the gravel area.
The discovery "prompted dismay from neighbours" – and brought a reminder that people caught illegally dumping rubbish and polluting the whenua would be fined hundreds of dollars.
"People say that they don’t pay for their rubbish ‘cause it’s too expensive but these people have got money – there’s Woodstock bourbons, there’s Lindt chocolate, there’s a whole lot of stuff here that not only could be recycled for free but are really expensive to buy and I think that they’ve got enough money for that," the council's rubbish and recycling expert Simon Millichamp said.
"You’d hope that they’d have enough money to pay three bucks to get rid of their bag of rubbish."
The council was enforcing fines of up to $400 for anyone caught dumping rubbish and other household items.
Millichamp called on locals to "do the responsible thing" and separate their recycling – and encourage their friends and whānau to do the same.
"That message is so much better coming from you rather than coming from council and if we all encourage people we know to do the right thing, it’ll not only look after our environment but also save us all as ratepayers money."
He advised anyone still unsure how to dispose of items to check the Far North District Council website.
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