The Newcastle Herald can reveal that environmental group Tangaroa Blue said it provided council with details of the exposed tip, including the GPS coordinates of the site and photographs, in 2016.

Joanne Zerafa, who regularly walks Stockton beach, organised Tangaroa Blue volunteers to clean up the site after discovering the rubbish and liaising with council about the find.

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You report it to council and you think theyre going to do something about it, she said. At the very least they should report it to the relevant authority.

Ms Zerafa, herself a Tangaroa Blue volunteer, sent at least two high priority emails to council staff following the clean up detailing her concerns. She never received a reply.

I wanted to let you know about some material, some of which we could not collect on the day of our clean up and which you may need to investigate further, Ms Zerafa wrote on June 20, 2016.

There appears to be an old dump exposed. Items including rusty motor parts and what appeared to be asbestos looking material are scattered on the beach, at the base of the dunes as well as throughout the dunes.

Tangaroa Blue managing director Heidi Taylor said following the clean up she had numerous discussions with council staff detailing concern about the site.

They were well informed and they should have done something about it, Ms Taylor said. Its horrifying what is going on at Stockton. Some of that stuff is decades and decades old and it looks like you could use it today. Burying it in the ground doesnt mean this type of rubbish goes away as we are clearly seeing.

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A council spokesman said following an east coast low in June 2016 a member of the public contacted council and a staff member visited the area but was unable to locate the reported waste.

It is possible that heavy winds at the time moved the sand, covering the reported waste, he said.

But Ms Zerafa described the response as a likely story. You would have to be blind not to see it, she said. They did not even contact me back, I would have happily taken them to the site. It was impossible to miss.

Stockton Landcare coordinator Paul Johnson said volunteers had been rehabilitating parts of the old tip site for five years and uncovered mountains of rubbish. Certainly I could be honest and say that council employees have been in that area and are aware its on top of a rubbish tip, he said.

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