FOOD WASTES ARE NOT TO BE TIPPED ON TOWN DUMP

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 25, 15 August 1949, Page 5

FOOD WASTES ARE NOT TO BE TIPPED ON TOWN DUMP

To keep the town dump clear of rats is probably one of the most difficult jobs the Whakatane Borough Council has to carry out. Lack of co-operation by those who make use of the dump and the difficulty of killing the rats makes it almost a full time job, but what is being done is keeping the area remarkably clear of the rodents. The purpose of the dump is not to breed rats, but a convenience to the public where residents can dump rubbish near the town. At the same time it also provides a cheap method of reclaiming land, which in the future will prove an asset to the district.

Periodically the dump is covered with earth while the face of it is sprayed often to keep it clear of flies. Regularly poison is laid under the supervision of the District Health Inspector, who, with the borough staff, keeps up a continual war against rats. What is drawing rats to the dump, it was pointed out to the Beacon by the chairman of the borough works committee, Mr H. G. Warren, is the throwing of foodstuffs on the dump. This is against the borough by-laws and action is to be taken against offenders using the tip to dump any foodstuffs whatsoever. The onus of getting rid of waste food lies with the individuals themselves but it is not permitted to be left on any public dump. The Council has difficulty in preventing anybody from tipping food on the dump or in directing any dumping. This would be almost a full time job and paying a man to watch the area does not warrant the expenditure. Mr Warren said that dumps are never pleasant places, but he claimed that the one at Whakatane was better than most. Any disorder on the place was the fault of the people who used it. The Council did its best but much of its work-was useless because of lack of co-operation from the 'public.