MEDIA RELEASE
11 January 2019
Roadside rubbish dumping a growing problem in Northland
New Zealand’s clean green image is being severely tarnished in Northland by roadside rubbish dumpers.
The NZ Transport Agency Agency’s Northland System Manager Jacqui Hori-Hoult says rubbish dumping is a growing problem.
“We do heaps of rubbish clearing across the Northland network and it’s becoming an increasing problem with people
littering or dumping domestic and commercial rubbish along the roadside.”
“We clear two dump sites and pick up an average 500 black bags of rubbish a month.”
“Chasing rubbish dumpers is not our core business, but we have to clean up after them. And that’s a waste of our time
and resources. We all have a responsibility to protect our environment and keep it clean.”
Ms Hori-Hoult says the dumping takes two forms.
“There’s the mess left near towns by people who’ve been eating fast food and then just dump the leftovers and wrappings
out the window.”
“And then there are people who appear to load up their household waste – that’s everything from broken furniture and
bikes to bags of clothes and old food – and toss it at a rest stop or on the side of the road. They leave a disgusting
mess and it’s not a great impression for our visitors.”
“It’s a year-round problem so locals are responsible for some of it, but it’s worse in summer with holidaymakers who go
home but leave their rubbish behind.”
“We’re really pleased to see we are starting to get the prosecution process for roadside dumping under way in Northland
and this is thanks to the partnerships we have with our Northland Councils.”
“If we find names and addresses in the rubbish we’ll work with the councils to follow up. Better still, if people can
send us vehicle registrations or photos of dumpers in action. We’ve got their rubbish. We just need eye witness or
photographic evidence to confirm the person responsible.”