Hundreds of companies have dumped contaminants - like blood, fat, and toxic chemicals such as ammonia and sulphides - into sewers in breach of their trade waste consents over the past year. That's when Van Betuw watches the effluent wreak havoc on the wastewater plant before it's sent out to sea off Dunedin's coast. Hundreds of companies have dumped contaminants - like blood, fat, and toxic chemicals such as ammonia and sulphides - into sewers in breach of their trade waste consents over the past year, RNZ can reveal. In Timaru, every trade waste consent holder has breached their conditions, while in Central Hawke's Bay, six of eight have done so. Some businesses compare councils' trade waste rules then play them off against each other, Okay says.

Source: Otago Daily Times January 24, 2021 21:00 UTC