In Taranaki you may dump certain wastes on your farm as long as it doesn’t impact the environment, neighbours or become a health hazard. The rules are there to protect our environment and prevent toxic materials from contaminating water or soil.
Here are the dos and don'ts of on-farm dumping
Do
- Only use on-farm dumps for waste directly generated on the property, preferably inert materials
- Reduce, reuse or recycle to cut down on what goes into the dump.
- Position the dump on clay soils and 25m away from all waterways (including drains and wetlands) and 50m away from bores, wells or springs used for drinking water
- An offal pit or trench should be more than 25m away from a water course.
- Put the dump on high ground and away from flood-prone areas or subsoil drainage to prevent contaminants reaching water
- Dispose of surplus agrichemical solution and containers in accordance with the directions on the label
Don’t
- Permit any windblown waste to enter waterways or neighbouring properties.
- Set an on-farm dumps on fire.
- Position the dump underneath the water table.
- Cause neighbours to suffer nuisance odours
- Dispose of effluent, offal or carcasses in on-farm dumps unless you can comply with the requirements for the disposal of such waste
Offal, carcasses and foodstuffs
The same rules apply when disposing of animals or food stuffs as dumping waste in on-farm dumps. Animals or offal should be disposed of in offal pits or trenches (trenches are preferred in areas where there is a high water table) and all animal welfare codes should be followed when slaughtering animals. Here are some rules around disposing of animals and food stuffs.
Do
- Site new offal pits or trenches at least 15m from any other offal pit or trench that has been used within the previous five years
- Fence off offal pits or trenches from stock
- Offal pits shall be securely covered with an impervious lid to prevent nuisance odours, vermin and the inundation of stormwater
- Volume should be no more than 30 cubic metres
- When disposing of food stuffs, always cover soon as possible with a minimum depth of 50mmof soil sawdust or sand
- Trenches should be not be more than 30 cubic metres and should be in the topsoil layer and up to 1m wide and 2m deep
- Cover trenches with a minimum of 50mm of soil, sawdust or sand as soon as possible
- Once the trench is full to within 1m of the surface, fill with soil and slightly mound the ground, then re-grass
- If disposing of a large animal, open the stomach to allow for faster decomposition. Puncture the left side of the rumen to prevent the build-up of toxic gases
Don’t
- Dig a trench or hole below the water table
- Use an offal hole or trench as a farm dump unless it complies with the requirements for farm dumps
- Burn offal or carcasses as this is not permitted and can produce a large amount of smoke
- Dump stock in waterways, and remove any dead stock from waterways and drains as soon as possible
- Use lime as this can restrict the decomposition process
- Enter an offal hole for any reasons as it is a suffocation risk
- Dump dead stock in an effluent pond