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The appearance of a massive pile of foul, stinking rubbish on Sandspit Wharf last month has been blamed on a truck crane failure.
Sandspit residents were livid about the pile of illegally dumped refuse that grew to more than 25 metres wide and more than two metres high in places during and after the Easter holiday period.
The waste surrounded three overflowing Molok waste bins, which are provided for the disposal of bagged household rubbish and recycling for the benefit of Kawau Island residents and boaties only.
Much of the waste was inorganic material such as the interior of dishwashers and broken dining tables and chairs.
Local environmental group SSOSI caught seven rats over the period when normally it might trap only one or two.
Chairperson Jean-Ann Holt says the illegal dumping is a regular occurrence at Sandspit Wharf, especially during holiday periods.
In a letter to Auckland Mayor Phil Goff, Rodney Councillor Greg Sayers and Rodney Local Board chair Beth Houlbrooke, Ms Holt asked why there appeared to be no monitoring of illegal dumping, particularly as she understood there was a security camera in place.
She said the rubbish was a health risk to residents and urged Council to come up with a long-term solution.
Her views were echoed by Sandspit resident John Griffin, who said locals from around Warkworth and closer were finding the site a convenient dump location for household rubbish, and illegal dumping occurred most evenings.
“Apart from the obvious rodent and aesthetic impact, there is a foul stink from the area that detracts from the spit. In windy weather the mess is strewn across the roadway and into the harbour,” he said.
Mr Griffin said a simple solution would be for Auckland Council to build a secure enclosure with PIN code access for Kawau Island users.
“If Council can spend millions of our ratepayer money on tarting up Britomart, then a few grand to prevent rubbish problems locally is long overdue.”
Council waste solutions programme director Parul Sood said the Molok bins were lined with an internal bag that needed to be lifted out by crane.
Problems occurred immediately after Easter when the hydraulics failed on the crane of a truck sent to empty the bins.
Unfortunately, the truck driver failed to report the incident to management to allow an alternative plan to be put in place.
Council is working with the contractor to ensure any similar incidents are reported promptly. Plans are in place to ensure a replacement truck is sent on the same day if the crane fails again.
Ms Sood said the Council was looking to place the bins inside a gated waste enclosure. The resource consent for the new design was in progress and was expected to be lodged next month.
Ms Sood would not disclose whether a security camera operated in the area.
“CCTV is used to catch people in the act of illegal dumping and if cameras are known to be present, it simply means the illegal dumper moves to a location that is not under CCTV,” she said.
Ms Sood said Council took illegal dumping seriously. At the start of last year, Mayor Phil Goff injected $200,000 to a new fund to tackle illegal dumping.
Aucklanders who see illegal dumping can report it by calling 0800 NODUMP.
