Paul Baynham, Air Quality Team Leader for the Northland Regional Council, says prior to the introduction of user-pays charges for kerbside rubbish removal, the Regional Council had typically dealt with one complaint a week about household refuse burning.
“In the last month we’ve had 16 complaints in the Whangarei District, more than double what we had during the same period last year.”
Mr Baynham says usually backyard burning is a cyclical problem that worsens during spring and autumn (when people try to burn unwanted garden waste) and again just prior to summer when people try to pre-empt possible fire bans or restrictions.
“Most of these complaints arise because people either just don’t think of, or care about, their neighbours.”
However, Mr Baynham says in recent weeks people causing smoke nuisances have been claiming that they’re burning household rubbish to avoid paying rubbish charges.
He says among the more unusual items people have been caught attempting to burn in recent months have been used disposable nappies, fish carcasses and entrails and even dog droppings.
“Leaving aside the unpleasant smells involved, these materials are not even readily combustible.”
However, as well as an unpleasant anti-social element, there are also a host of more serious health issues involved.
Smoke and fumes from materials like plastics can be especially toxic, some releasing cancer-causing chemicals including dioxins.
“Even smoke from relatively ‘clean’ sources can affect human health, with tiny particles penetrating deep into the lungs. These too can contain chemical substances which can cause breathing-related problems like chemical bronchitis or asthma.”
Mr Baynham says it’s illegal for people to create a smoke nuisance and under the Resource Management Act, offenders can be hit with instant fines of $750.
Under the Regional Council’s Regional Air Quality Plan, it is illegal to burn a wide range of materials. These include rubber (including tyres), hazardous substances or their containers, coated metal cable, vehicle parts and timber treated with copper, chrome, arsenic or organochlorine substances.
The burning of plastic agrichemical containers and any halogenated plastic products (like PVC pipes) is also prohibited.
Mr Baynham says on trade and industrial premises, only paper, cardboard and untreated timber can be burned and only if the fire is contained in an incinerator. Even then, the smoke must not cause a nuisance to any neighbours.
He says there are a number of ways people can dispose of waste without burning. Garden waste can be composted and newspapers, cardboard and some other materials recycled. Other rubbish can be put out for collection.
Mr Baynham says anyone bothered by smoke from a fire should ask the person who lit it to put it out.
If they won’t and the nuisance continues, people can contact the Regional Council’s 24/7 toll-free Environmental Hotline – (0800) 504 639.