DUMPED PAPER

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 106, 31 October 1941, Page 4

DUMPED PAPER

FIRE AND NUISANCE

AND DEPLORABLE WASTE

ANGER AT PETONE

Strong terms were used by speakers at the Petone Borough Council meeting last evening in condemning what was declared to be a lack of organisation ttta-t resulted in the dumping of 200 tons of waste paper eminently suitable for pulping. The following resolution, moved by Councillor A. G. Steffensen, and seconded by Councillor H. Green, was carried unanimously: "That a letter be sent to Mr. Chas. Todd, chairman of the Dominion pouncil for the Reclamation of Waste Materials, stating that the Petone Borough Council, in view of the recent fire at the Empire Box Company's works, and the lack of organisation in the collection of waste paper, whereby approximately 200 tons had to be dumped, calls on the council to review its organisation with a view to obviating a similar occurrence in the future." • The question was raised by Councillor J. Martin, who desired to know who had been responsible for a quantity of the paper being dumped at. the Petone tip in such a manner as to endanger the- premises and the boats of the Motor-boat Club.' The Town Clerk, Mr. H. Firth, explained that the paper could not.be dumped over the tip head on account of the fact that the resultant fire would infringe the black-out regulations. Permission had been given to deposit it elsewhere, but unfortunately the car^ rier spread it in such.a way that premises were endangered by fire which, broke out during the third day of tipping. Further cartage of paper to the tip was prohibited. Mr. Firth said he had then got in touch with the Council for the Recla? mation of Waste Materials and Salvation Army officers, who had the paper reclamation in hand, had investigated the position, but could do nothing, neither cartage facilities nor storage space being available. Contact had been made with Mir. Todd, but no action had followed. The paper was now being taken to Taita. - "ABSOLUTELY DEPLORABLE." Councillor A. G. Steffensen said the position was absolutely deplorable. Recently there had been columns in. the "Evening Post" laying down a mandate to persons not to waste envelopes and here was 200 tons of the most suitable material for-pulping being dumped. When, the campaign for the reclamation of waste materials was initiated, he had been appointed to organise the matter locally in regard to non-ferrous metals, and his committee of thirteen superannuated railwaymen had done wonderful" service, but all they had saved was but a thimbleful in comparison with the waste of 200 tons of paper. He was so disgusted with the lack of organisation shown by the Dominion council that he was finished as an organiser of the local committee and would so inform the committee. The Deputy Mayor, Councillor A. M. Macfarlane, said that the difficulty had arisen through the black-out arrangements preventing burning at the tip in the ordinary way. He had tried to have the regulations relaxed. The j paper was a perfect bane and was creating.trouble at Taita. During the recent floods it was lifted off the dumps and deposited on fences and gorse bushes over a large area. Regarding waste there was more than paper. In a number of schools the bottles collected by the-pupils were still lying, with the sacks rotting. The organisation broke down, in the outlying schools, for want of carriage. • . The Town Clerk said that the resolution did hot end the position in regard to fires at the tip. The Lighting Controller was continually complaining that the fire at the tip was infringing the regulations. The engineer, Mr. C. L. Jackson, and the works committee were appointed, a committee to report on the possibility of forming a Bradford tip elsewhere until the fires^at the present tip can be extinguished.