Teenager cops rubbish fine
6 April 2017
A Waipa teenager has been fined $400 for dumping rubbish.
The young woman was spotted last month leaving bags of rubbish under blackberry bushes on O'Regan Road in the north of the district.
A witness saw her and quickly reported the car registration and a description of the woman to the Council. Enforcement staff retrieved the rubbish which included food wrappers, clothing and a maggot-infested meal. The offender was traced back to a Waipa address and a fine was immediately issued.
Waipa District Council enforcement officer Ken Danby said Council would not hesitate to fine illegal dumpers if staff have the evidence they need.
We won't think twice about taking action, Danby said.
But for that we are heavily reliant on the public being vigilant. We need suspicious behaviour reported quickly and need key information like car registrations and descriptions supplied."
Danby warned against people taking to social media and publishing names of alleged fly-tippers.
There was an instance recently where a person and their employer were identified on Facebook. But the person got it wrong and innocent people were unfairly blamed for something they didn't do. It's best just to report the incident very quickly to us with the right information and we'll take it from there.
Council has received 41 illegal dumping complaints already this year. Last month a young man was formally warned about dumping rubbish in a carpark in Arapuni Road after a tip-off from the public.
We didn't have enough to fine him but he was pretty shocked and embarrassed to have been caught. It's a gutless and lazy thing to do and Waipa people won't tolerate it, Danby said.
People dropping large quantities of rubbish tend to do so in isolated areas, but they are still being reported.
Media enquiries, contact Jeanette Tyrrell (on behalf of Council) 027 5077 599