Fines may be imposed on those responsible for illegally
dumping rubbish in Dunedin's student quarter.
Dunedin City Council solid waste manager Ian Featherston was
alerted yesterday to large piles of rubbish dumped on the
footpath outside student flats in Dundas and Forth Sts.
About 50 non-regulation rubbish bags and cardboard boxes
spilled discarded material on to the pavement outside a
Dundas St block of apartments known as the Coronation Flats.
A slightly smaller collection of illegally dumped waste was
left outside the Rodley Close apartment building on Forth St.
Mr Featherston said the council contractors would not pick up
the rubbish because it was not in council-issue rubbish bags
and, therefore, the service had not been paid for.
''Technically, it's illegally dumped rubbish. It is typical
of this time of year,'' he said.
He would try to contact those responsible by talking to flat
landlords and any tenants still living at the properties.
Mr Featherston said council contractors might also sift
through the rubbish in an effort to find items that
identified the owners.
''If we get in contact with them, we usually give them a
chance to see it off the road and put it in the transfer
station. Otherwise, we issue them with a fine,'' he said.
Both the Rodley Close and Coronation blocks of flats involved
multiple landlords.
Mr Featherston said depending on what the rubbish contained,
it could be deemed an environmental hazard within 24 hours.
In such circumstances, the council would have it removed and
try to recoup costs by fining those responsible.
''If it is organic material, it could be attracting rodents
within 24 hours,'' Mr Featherston said.
No fines had been issued for illegally dumped rubbish in the
student quarter so far this summer, he said.
Most students had moved out of their accommodation by the end
of November.
Usually, ''one or two'' were fined each year, Mr Featherston
said.
The council rubbish collection took place in the student area
on Mondays.
Mr Featherston believed the piles of rubbish on Dundas and
Forth Sts might have been dumped after New Year's Eve.
- rosie.manins@odt.co.nz
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.