Council’s car crushing crusade is continuing- despite the wet wintery weather.

Around 385 car bodies have been collected from throughout the district over the past few months with Tuai the latest area to receive a clean-up with 28 car bodies removed.

Tuai locals teamed up with Genesis Energy to round up abandoned cars in the village for collection by recyclers Metalco. 

Wairoa District Council Group Manager of Planning and Regulatory Services Simon Mutonhori said it was great to see the community joining in the clean-up effort. “Cleaning up abandoned cars is a partnership approach and it is fantastic to see people helping out with this good cause.”

One of many abandoned cars being removed from the Tuai village as part of Council’s abandoned car clean up crusade.

The campaign has been a collaborative effort from the community, car wreckers, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and Wairoa District Council.

The response has been districtwide with members of the community phoning council which then makes arrangements with car wreckers to pick up wrecks on agreed dates and time, so car wreckers get a full load every time.

Mr Mutonhori urges people in villages and neighbourhoods to liaise with their neighbours, who may also have car bodies to dispose of, so the wrecks can be collected at the same time, making it efficient and economical for car removers.

“We have identified hundreds more abandoned car bodies, many of them on riverbanks, that we will attend to. However, at the moment winter conditions can make accessibility difficult so while we still want people to contact us so we can collate collections, we just ask for patience while we wait for retrieval conditions to improve.

“As well as generally making the district look better, cleaning up wrecks also reduces health, safety and fire risks. Leaching of car fluids can cause environmental impacts plus there are potential fire risks and general health and safety from rusty cars and broken glass.

“People tell us all the time they want to see the health of our awa improved, yet we are still seeing vehicles dumped and abandoned on riverbanks and near waterways.

“We want to be proactive, but the community also needs to help itself. We are thrilled to see the community to joining hands and acknowledging that this type of dumping is not acceptable. 

“This is about protecting the environment and cleaning up the district. Council wants to help correctly dispose of the car bodies, but we need a management plan going forward so this doesn’t keep on happening. It is key we have plans in place to stop this behaviour repeating in the future. 

If you have a number of abandoned or wrecked cars to remove, call George Ash at the Council offices on 838 7309.  Council will accept single cars at the landfill at no charge, providing the person has applied to Council and meets the conditions and timing requirements for the vehicle drop off.

Tuai locals teamed up with Genesis Energy to round up abandoned cars in the village for collection by recyclers Metalco as part of a Council campaign to remove abandoned cars throughout the district.

20 July 2021

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