The Northland Regional Council (NRC) will tomorrow (Thurs 02 August) publicly notify a proposal to ban the burning of any waste material within urban Whāngārei.
The affected area includes Onerahi (to Grahamtown Rd), Maunu (to just before Pompallier Estate Drive), Tikipunga (to just past Whāngārei Falls) and Kamo (to just past Springs Flat).
Paul Baynham, the Council’s Air Quality Team Leader, says few people realise the true extent of the health, environmental and other costs of backyard burning.
He says a recently-released study by leading New Zealand medical and air scientists blames air pollution from sources like backyard burning for up to 14 otherwise preventable deaths in Whāngārei every year.
Burning and smoke nuisance also make up the single largest source of complaints – roughly a quarter of all those the NRC fields across the entire region.
“Burning of unwanted green and other waste is responsible for about nine percent of Whāngārei city’s annual air pollution and discharges about 52 tonnes of inhaleable soot and 270 tonnes of carbon monoxide into Whāngārei's air.“
In a bid to improve air quality throughout Northland, the Council is now proposing changes to its Regional Air Quality Plan, which include banning backyard burning in urban Whāngārei. However, the proposal will still allow the use of private barbeques, hangi and umu.
The proposed change will make burning on all other private land elsewhere in Northland a ‘permitted activity’, subject to conditions to ensure it does not adversely affect adjoining landowners.
Mr Baynham says ‘Proposed Plan Change 2’ does not apply to burning at trade or industrial premises because the Regional Air Quality Plan already addresses these issues
The public has from tomorrow (2 August) until 4pm on Friday 31 August to comment on the proposed changes. Mr Baynham says further public submissions will then be called for.
He says if the proposed plan change takes effect – probably early next year - the Council will be able to serve persistent offenders with an abatement notice ordering them to stop unauthorised burning.
Submission forms and guidelines are available free of charge at all Regional Council offices in Whāngārei, Dargaville, Ōpua and Kaitāia. All plan change documents, including submission forms, will also be available from tomorrow on the Council’s website www.nrc.govt.nz