'The clowns' - Furious Phil Goff calls for illegal dumpers to be forced into clean-ups

People who illegally dump rubbish should be made to clean up other people's trash, says Auckland Mayor Phil Goff, who's furious about a pile of tyres he found dumped on the roadside this morning.

He says he's asking the Government to make cleaning up rubbish others have dumped a penalty.

Mr Goff has taken to Facebook, posting a photo of the tyres he discovered at the side of a rural road, and calling for the culprits to be prosecuted.

"The clowns that do this sort of illegal dumping need to be prosecuted. I came across this earlier this morning. By the number of tyres the culprit may well be a commercial operator," Mr Goff wrote.

He said at his instruction Auckland Council has given higher priority to catching offenders. Recent prosecutions have resulted in heavy fines, home detention and in one case deportation, he wrote. 

"We are issuing more penalties and the rate of dumping has reduced but it is still happening. 

"I’d like to see offenders sentenced to spending their weekends cleaning up the rubbish others have dumped. I’m asking the Government to change the law to make this penalty possible."

Mr Goff says the other way to help stop dumping is a "product stewardship scheme" for tyres.

That would mean building into the purchase price of the tyre the cost of recycling it and then not paying for disposal when you change your used tyres. 

"If you can dispose of your used tyres free then they are less likely to be dumped," the mayor said.