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- By Phil Taylor, Eastern Times
The callous action of someone who irresponsibly dumped bags of shellfish in a tidal waterway has raised the ire of council environment staff.
The Times was recently notified by an East Auckland resident of the discarding of about 30 bags of mussels in the Turanga Creek at Whitford.
The Times contacted the Auckland Council and it was unaware of the dumping until we notified it of the illegal act.
“Thank you for sending the information on the dumped bags of mussels in Whitford,” says Justine Haves, the council’s waste solutions general manager.
“We had not received any reports of illegal dumping at this location prior to your inquiry.”
The local resident notified the Times by writing that he found the discarded shellfish “down past the old post office where the wharf is” on Whitford Wharf Road, “approximately 30 bags of green-lip mussels dumped”.
The council says an environment officer visited the site on Monday, August 25.
“They located the bags down the bottom of a steep bank bordering a wetland area,” says Haves.
“We’re arranging to have the bags and their contents removed.
“As the bank is steep, we will need specialist contractors to recover the bags, but we hope to do this as soon as possible.
“It’s disappointing to see a dumping of this nature and if anyone has any information that may help to identify the offenders and hold them to account, please contact Auckland Council,” says Haves.
“We would like to remind people if you see anyone dumping rubbish, on public land, a private site or on an existing pile, report it and we will investigate.
“Call 0800 NO DUMP (0800 663 867). This number operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” says Haves.
