Media Release – 21 March 2014

Dumping in Residential Red Zone under investigation

While the dumping of commercial and domestic waste in the Residential Red Zone has been an issue for some time, a joint investigation by CERA, ECan and the Christchurch City Council in to illegal industrial waste dumping by a contractor is now underway.

“A few people think that dumping their waste in the Residential Red Zone won’t be noticed or won’t do any harm”, says Carl Diamond, Project Manager Earthquake Waste Management. “In addition to the potential environmental impacts, it poses a danger to people working in the area and, ultimately, the cost of the clean-up is at the expense of the tax payer”.

“Dumping of rubbish on any site is illegal. People who see anyone dumping rubbish in the Residential Red Zone are encouraged to not put themselves at any risk but to make note of licence plates, company names, dates and times. This information, along with any photos, should then be passed on to ECan or CERA. This will help us to identify and take action against any offenders”.

CERA continues its security patrols in the area to help reduce the opportunity for illegal dumping. On average, a couple of rubbish dumping sites are found each day. This can range from household waste to large trailer loads of industrial waste and concrete slurry.

“There is a significant cost to the tax payer every month for the clean-up of this waste. It is not acceptable and everything will be done to ensure that individuals and contracting companies are caught and action taken against them,” says Carl Diamond.

ENDS

© Scoop Media