Police and Land SAR volunteers were forced to search through tonnes of Rotorua rubbish looking for an activated emergency locator beacon.

The beacon, thrown into the rubbish by its owner who had replaced it with a newer model, was taken to the tip near the airport where it activated and registered on every aircraft using Rotorua airport.

The beacon began sending a signal at about 6pm on Monday night. The Rescue Coordination Centre contacted the registered owner to learn the beacon had been collected in the weekly council collection earlier that day.

Police were contacted to see if they could assist with tracking the beacon so it could be recovered and turned off.

On Wednesday morning today, two Rotorua Police Search & Rescue squad members and two Land SAR volunteers had the unpleasant and onerous task of searching the landfill to locate the beacon.

This was made easier with the assistance of landfill staff, who pinpointed the location where refuse had been dumped from the area where the owner of the beacon lives.

The Epirb was quickly found using specialist direction finding equipment and switched off.

The RCCNZ says the Rotorua incident is a reminder that old beacons can still be activated if there is life left in the battery.

Old beacons must be deactivated before being dumped. This means disconnecting the battery prior to disposal or taking the beacon to an approved place to be disposed of, such as a local Police Station, the Rescue Coordination Centre, or a beacon retailer.

More information on beacon disposal is available by visiting www.beacons.org.nz or by contacting the Rescue Coordination Centre on freephone 0800 406 111 or 0508 406 111.