Mayor Goff announces new mayoral led initiative to crack down on illegal dumping

Mayor Phil Goff today announced significant new resources to tackle illegal dumping in Auckland, unveiled as part of a new mayoral led initiative, including a new 0800 hotline to report dumpers.

Mayor Phil Goff said, “Illegal roadside rubbish dumping has blighted our city, harmed our environment and burdened ratepayers with the costs of clean-up. I’m sick and tired of it, Aucklanders are sick and tired of it and I’m calling on members of the public to help us tackle the problem.

“Since I started raising the issue over the summer holidays the public have told me they want action. That is what we are delivering.”

The Mayor said that to help Council to act, people need to report illegal dumping and help Council with any evidence that may lead to prosecutions.

“We have made it easier for people to report illegal dumping by setting up 0800 NODUMP – a dedicated phone line to simplify the reporting process.

“I’m calling on our communities not to accept the irresponsible actions of a few individuals and cowboy commercial outfits, and to report illegal dumping.”

Other actions being rolled out include hiring additional enforcement staff, doubling the number of surveillance cameras in hotspot areas and speeding up the process to clean up dumped material in public areas.

Alongside those measures the Mayor said Auckland Council was improving its communications to help better inform the public about inorganic collections, recycling and ways to reduce their waste.

“People have been asking for better information on what they can do with their residential waste. We have made this material more accessible through the makethemostofwaste.co.nz website, and improved the council website to make it easier to find out about inorganic collections.”

Posters are also being distributed to libraries, leisure centres and service centres across Auckland explaining 0800 NODUMP and directing people to further information.

Mayoral led initiative on illegal dumping – at a glance:

$200k has been allocated to fund:

0800 NODUMP hotline
Doubling the number of surveillance cameras in dumping hotspots.
Hire of three additional enforcement staff, bringing the total to nine.
Speeding up the process to clean up dumped material in public areas
Funding to proactively respond to all illegal dumping reports and comments on social media channels including council, community and political.
Additional contractor resource of $40,000 to clear backlog in the South
Improving communications around recycling, inorganic collections and waste reduction.

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