Phantom dumper spoils beach

Domestic rubbish dumped on Papamoa Beach

He was disgusted and disappointed. 'Yes, certainly a bit stink about it.”

Leonard Harris' beloved Papamoa Beach, his haven, had been defiled.

'I was watching the waves and noticed something shiny and black, rubbish bag-type plastic, sticking out of the sand.” He pulled it, but it wouldn't come loose.

'So I dug it out with my hands. It was a domestic rubbish bag and it was full.” Then a second rubbish bag. And a third. Some disrespectful and inconsiderate fly tipper had buried their rubbish in the middle of Leonard's retreat, the hugely popular suburban playground, Papamoa Beach.

'I often take a break from work and go down to the beach for a walk and pick up bits of rubbish. But I certainly wasn't expecting this. I was pretty gutted, pretty disappointed,” says the Papamoa IT developer.

"We haven't had specific reports about this incident,” says Tauranga City Council's Stuart Goodman. 'But we do receive complaints about rubbish dumped across the city”.

It's antisocial behaviour covered by the Litter Act 1979. It decrees 'every person commits an offence, and is liable on conviction, in the case of an individual, to a fine not exceeding $5,000 …who deposits any litter in or on a public place….” For a corporate body, the maximum fine is $20,000.

Tauranga City Council investigates reports of rubbish dumping and littering to see if anything can be linked to the offender – personal documents or vehicle registration numbers. Often there's nothing to identify the offender.

"If we do manage to identify the offender, we follow up and warn them about their offending,” says Stuart. The TCC may step up its vigilance. 'We are also looking at installing CCTV at dumping hot spots.”

Fine them, says Leonard. 'That would be a start. Then make them fill as many bags as they dumped by walking the beach picking up rubbish. That would be even better.”

He could understand the odd wrapper on the beach but not three plastic bags of domestic rubbish. 'They could have put it out on the kerb for collection. Wouldn't that have been easier? That tells us something about them. People don't want to pay for bags, so they go bury it on a beach. An easy hole to dig. It is deeply disrespectful and irresponsible. Such a lame way to get rid of rubbish.”'

Leonard removed the bags from the beach before they were claimed by the incoming tide.

Papamoa Beach is bordered by a busy road. ”Illegal dumping or burying rubbish on a beach isn't something easily done nine to five. It would have to be done after dark – harder to spot.”

Leonard's not a greenie. 'I just have a heart. It frustrates me when I go for a walk and see this stuff up and down the beach. I am just someone who wants to look after the environment. We all have to take responsibility. I didn't put the rubbish there but I made it my responsibility to remove it.”

Stuart wants witnesses to illegal littering or rubbish dumping to ring 07 577 7000, along with any information that may identify the offender such as a licence plate number.

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