Council relents on “no scavenging”
Blacksmith Pat Baker at his Hell’s Kitchen Forge. For him, a return to metal recycling can’t come soon enough. Photo: Gerard Hindmarsh.
After widespread dissatisfaction expressed by locals, TDC are doing a turnaround on their unpopular "no scavenging" rules that have been strictly enforced since last June at both Takaka and Collingwood transfer stations.
Last week the council's engineering manager Peter Thomson said that "a new system" would be developed within the next two to three weeks to meet the public desire to recover material from recycling stockpiles and ensure an efficient but safe method of retrieval.
He explains: "We'll be nominating a weekend day (probably Saturday at Takaka RRC and Sunday at Collingwood RRC) where the operator's staff will be available to assist the public with recovering material. The operator (Streetsmart) will retain full discretion over whether requested material will be made available, the manner in which it is handled and uplifted, and whether any charge is made if the material is of significant value to the operator."
For some DIY locals, this turnaround about their top money-saving resource can't come soon enough. Take blacksmith Pat Baker at Onekaka, winner of the 3D category at Bay Art this year for his crazy metal "Mustaboar". He used to get virtually all the raw material for his forge from the scrap steel pile at the Takaka dump before being stopped completely.
"TDC have the nerve to keep calling the dump a recovery and recycling centre. It's been the exact opposite-no one's been allowed to recover or recycle anything except through their shop, but that's not the sort of stuff I'm after. It just doesn't make sense to buy everything new when there are perfectly good parts to reuse down there."
Bill Wallis of Anatoki agrees. "Lots of people in the Bay used to routinely fix their washing machines, fridges and stoves, even cars, from that dump. I've been a scrounger all my life and I think it was crazy what TDC did there. A lot of that scrap steel is our history, and it's all been carted out of the Bay. The best bits should stay here if people want to reuse it."
TDC are emphatic that the phenomenal rise of scrap prices in the middle of last year had nothing to do with the closure of the dump to scavengers who routinely paid a gold coin or two at most for literally anything they could stuff in their wagon. The closure definitely did have something to do with a most heated and highly questionable altercation last May between a dump staffer and a scavenger whose barefoot son was caught playing around the steel pile. This incident saw Streetsmart (with the full blessing of council) slam shut the longstanding, informal "open door" tradition of recycling at both the Bay's dumpsites. At the time, David Stephenson, TDCs utilities asset engineer, acknowledged that police had been called regarding the confrontation, and although no charges were laid, that event prompted the review of public access and site safety that effectively banned all scavenging.
Bay residents who had regularly extracted recyclables from both stations began complaining immediately and vocally that they now faced buying new materials and parts, staunchly questioning how council's decision fitted into its recycling and zero waste policies. After dragging its heels on the issue, council has finally relented.
So will the one allocated weekend day at each dump satisfy the scroungers amongst us? Pat Baker is philosophical. "It's better than nothing. And I guess we can have Saturday scavengers' meetings at the dump."
TDC has also given an "in" to other days too, though in a limited way: Explains Peter Thomson: "On other days members of the public will be able to make specific request of the operator's staff regarding recovery of any items. The operator will assist as and when staff are available. Material may have to be set aside at a later time to be picked up."
It all begs the questions: Whatever happened to common sense and good manners, and those signs you used to see around that read "Enter at your risk"?
Gerard Hindmarsh
