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A Hawke’s Bay business has been fined for illegally burning in Hawke’s Bay. (File photo)
A Hawke’s Bay business has been fined $ 11,900 after an illegal burn last year.
A court decision to fine Hastings Demolition Limited $ 11,900 for burning prohibited items sent a “strong message to the community,” the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council said.
The company, which started a fire on Beach Rd, Tangoio, on October 9 last year, pleaded guilty to releasing a pollutant into the air.
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He was sentenced and fined by Judge Melinda Dickey in Hastings District Court on Tuesday.
The combustion contained toxic elements, including plastic (pipe, bottles, clearlite, strapping), particle board, painted wood, treated wood, insulation, a mattress, and polystyrene.
When the council spoke to him, the company admitted that the staff had started the fire, per the judge’s decision. .
It reported that the foreman’s intention at the site was to burn the native wood that was cut during the demolition, but that two occasional employees had loaded the fire with toxic material while the foreman was attending an off-site meeting.
When the foreman returned to the property around 11:30 a.m., he noticed that two crew members had thrown garbage on the fire.
“He said that that instruction was never given at any stage,” the decision report says.
Council Chairman Rex Graham said it was “nice” to see pollution being taken so seriously. “I hope this fine will make other people stop and think before carrying out an illegal burning.”
Earlier this year Santo Drainage and Contracting Ltd was fined $ 12,555 for an illegal fire in Frimley, Hastings.
Pollution Enforcement and Response Team Leader Mike Alebardi said the council was committed to “rigorously enforcing rules that protect the health of the environment and the community.”
If anyone has information about unauthorized discharges to land, air or water, they should contact the council’s 24/7 pollution hotline at 0800 108 838.
