The operator of Tauranga's last private tip, Lance Waaka, is sentenced to perform 400 hours of community work for breaches of the Resource Management Act.

The tip, near the Poike roundabout, was the last independent commercial depository for clean fill in the district.

Image: Google Earth.

It is now closed and Lance and four people employed there are out of work.

Lance, 62, was sentenced this week after pleading guilty in June to eight charges of permitting prohibited materials to be dumped at the tip.

These charges are for actions committed between April and October in 2009.

The materials dumped without authorisation included glue and solvent containers, paint containers, carpet, foam underlay, Pink Batts and polystyrene.

At the time of the offences, only clean fill was permitted to be brought onto the site.

The maximum penalties for the offences varied, but were as much as a fine of $300,000 or a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years.

Lance convinced the court that he wouldn't be able to pay a fine at the level that was being considered; $100,000 to $120,000.

Judge Robert Wolf instead sentenced him to community work instead, at the maximum sentence of 400 hours.

'I haven't got the money, they have run me broke,” says Lance speaking outside the court.

'I told them that. I'll probably have to go on the dole now.”

The tip catered mainly for Tauranga's building industry, taking clean fill and building materials, but the rules kept changing, says Lance.

First they said he could include plastics, then they said he could no longer take Batts bags and the like.

He says he was told by one inspector that he could take up to 10 per cent of a load in trees.

'When he left, the next fellow said ‘you are not allowed to do that'.”

Lance obtained written permission from the Bay of Plenty Regional Council to take salt sludge from Dominion Salt. Then three years later it was denied.

'They said it was alright then they blamed me because it was going into the drain,” says Lance. 'I put a liner down and all that.”

'I'm not into polluting rivers – our river is our main source of food for our hapu down there,” says Lance.

At his sentencing his court appointed lawyer, Peter Attwood, said Lance understood 10 of the charges against him were to be dropped if he pleaded guilty to six and he would receive a sentence of community service.

Lance said he had been unable to find out what the charges were that he pleaded guilty to.

Judge Wolf said he arranged Peter Attwood's appointment because he was concerned Lance was taking advice from people pushing him into an inarguable position, and who would disappear, leaving Lance with the responsibility of paying.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council Chairman John Cronin says the sentence should be a reminder that the Bay community does not tolerate polluting and has an expectation that people willnot damage the environment.