South Wairarapa District Council has voted to take urgent action on an environmental clean-up this financial year at an illegal dumping site on the South Wairarapa coast at an estimated cost of $200,000. This was approved at the Council’s 30 April Strategy Working Committee meeting.

An immediate clean-up will prevent potentially devastating environmental consequences and regulatory action from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), if waste moved down the cliff into the river and ocean.

“I am heartbroken at the environmental damage cause by irresponsible human activity. Council is now in the regrettable but necessary position of having to take action and repair this damage in order to protect our precious coastline, the marine and plant life that live in it. It’s unfortunate that this cost will now fall to the ratepayers of the district,” says Councillor Rebecca Gray.

The Department of Conservation alerted the Council about the illegal dumping above Hurupi River on Cape Palliser Road in January 2024, which was confirmed by site visits and drone footage, both of which showed an accumulation of waste which is thought to have taken place over several years.

The illegal dumping site’s steep and challenging terrain both make it difficult to determine the exact volume of waste and presence of hazardous substances. As a result, this may require even further budget to complete the work. It also means specialist contractors are needed to abseil down the cliff to remove the waste, which will be lifted out by a crane and sorted.

Further costs, accounted for by the contingency, may be incurred if asbestos is discovered or there is wet weather during the clean-up to dispose of the waste.

Deterrents have been implemented to prevent any dumping in future. Once work is complete, restoration of the site will be considered along with long term monitoring to protect the fragile marine and plant life on the South Coast.

“It’s a shame we have to dig into operating expenditure to remove waste that has been illegally dumped over several years and it’s disappointing to see such a large amount of waste being dumped on our beautiful coastline where it can damage the natural life of the area,” says James O’Connor, Manager, Community Operations.

“The Council will look to recover costs from anyone we identify during the clean up,” says O’Connor.

“This is an expensive reminder that the actions of a few will cost us all,” says Councillor Melissa Sadler-Futter.