Cities across the nation are grappling with the challenge of managing thousands of tonnes of illegally dumped waste.
According to new data obtained by Checkpoint, Auckland faces the most significant issue, with council workers collecting 1926 tonnes of discarded rubbish last year. This amount is roughly equivalent to the weight of 154 of the city’s electric buses.
The items most frequently collected include rubbish sacks, mattresses, and cardboard boxes. Illegally dumped old couches and chairs are also commonly found.
In Christchurch, the council estimates that 909 tonnes of rubbish was illegally dumped in the last financial year. Meanwhile, Wellington City Council reports removing 515 tonnes from the streets, and Hamilton recorded 161.58 tonnes of illegally dumped waste last year.
On Cracroft St in Ōtāhuhu, Auckland, resident Christina Ita’a is actively fighting against illegal dumping. She notes that an abandoned house on her street has been a popular dumping ground for at least seven years since her family moved to the area.
When RNZ visited, the rubbish outside the property included a queen mattress, a child’s ride-on toy, an old duvet, and a smashed television.
Ita’a explains that garbage is often thrown inside the property’s boundaries, which means it isn’t counted as illegal dumping on public land.
“I’ve seen people come here, park their car, and then they take it out,” she says.
“There’s couches, beds, all kinds of rubbish.”
Despite reporting the dumping to Auckland Council multiple times, and the installation of a camera and sign by the council, Ita’a feels the situation hasn’t improved. She highlights a queen mattress lying under the council’s “strictly no dumping” sign when speaking to RNZ.
“So what can I do about it? Come out and then talk to them directly?
“It’s not working – I’ve been told that it’s none of your business. But it is, it’s our neighbourhood and that’s what we do.”
Just a short drive away is another dumping site on Hutton St.
Mike Bedson, the operations manager at Eco Maintenance, which is contracted by Auckland Council to collect illegally dumped rubbish, points to a large pile of trash on the street berm, reported to the council by a member of the public. The pile includes black rubbish sacks, old furniture, clothes, tree branches, cardboard, and polystyrene boxes. It also contains an old pram and is located under a “for sale” sign for one of the nearby units.
Besides being unsightly, the cleanup is costly.
Auckland Council reports that the cleanup of illegally dumped rubbish cost ratepayers $3.1 million in the last financial year.
Overall, 23,964 reports of dumping were made by the public. A breakdown by area reveals that Papatoetoe, Manurewa, and Papakura had the highest number of reports logged between 2021 and 2025. Henderson and Flat Bush were fourth and fifth for reports of illegal dumping.
Bedson notes that there are approximately 30 “illegal dumping hotspots” across the city. His team checks these locations at least once a week due to the high volume and frequency of dumping there. He refrains from disclosing the exact locations to prevent further dumping.
Auckland Council’s general manager of Waste Management, Justine Haves, describes illegal dumping as a complex issue.
Under the Litter Act, the council can impose fines of up to $400 for illegal dumping. However, Haves explains that the investigation process is resource-intensive due to the high evidence threshold required for offences.
In the 2024/25 financial year, the council issued fines totaling $160,200, according to data.
“We really do want to encourage people to report, but enforcement is also really important so that there’s a consequence to the action.
“For example, in Manurewa, we have specific initiatives in place to increase our monitoring and surveillance in known hot spot areas, and that enables us to capture a higher level of evidence to then consider what action we take.”
Haves also emphasizes the importance of residents utilizing services like the council’s inorganic collection service to dispose of junk properly, rather than resorting to illegal dumping.
