A security guard has an altercation with an elderly man over rubbish dumping in Dunedin's student quarter.

A tussle broke out when an elderly man tried to dump rubbish in free skips in Dunedin's student quarter.

The University of Otago has hired security guards temporarily to stop non-students from dumping unwanted waste in the skips meant for students to use.

Allied Security officers were patrolling 11 skip sites on Friday morning, but one was soon involved in an incident.

Hamish McNeilly/Stuff A security guards on Leith St North watch skips in Dunedin's student quarter

A student who took a video of the incident told Stuff an elderly man took his wheelie bin to a skip parked on Leith St North about 8am.

READ MORE: Student clean-up honours Sophia Crestani

"I heard all this noise and wondered if people were already out drinking."

Hamish McNeilly/Stuff Another security guard.

The elderly man was indignant about being prevented from dumping his rubbish in the skip, and accused the guard of "touching my throat".

The man then dove backwards.

The student who saw the incident said the guard was doing his best to defuse the situation.

Hamish McNeilly/Stuff Another security guard stands watch.

It was unclear if the man lived in the area, or was a landlord.

University of Otago property services director Dean Macaulay said: "We are disappointed that a dispute occurred as indicated in the video."

The skips were provided to support students with the removal of waste during a busy period.

Hamish McNeilly/Stuff A security staff member watch a skip in Dunedin's student quarter.

"The introduction of a manned service is to avoid misuse and the illegal dumping of rubbish noting that the last scheduled service resulted in a substantial amount of illegal dumping of rubbish.

"We understand that manning the guards is a new initiative, however the intent of the service remains unchanged."

The skips would be in the area during the next two Fridays too, with guards making sure only students dumped their waste in the skips.

Hamish McNeilly/Stuff Security guards chat with Campus Watch on Castle St North.

The tertiary institution started providing skips in 2006 and their use was growing each year. The cost had risen to about $90,000 a year.

Unsupervised skips had been replaced multiple times each day, collecting some 36 tonnes of waste, during the 2019 Orientation period.

The skips were provided during 13 days of the year. The most a skip was replaced in a day was 13 times.

Macaulay said anecdotal evidence indicated there were increasing numbers of non-students using the skips.

Large piles of waste were dumped around some skips in November.

Thousands of students are returning to Dunedin for the start of Orientation 2020, with skip deployments most intensive during the start and finish of each year as students move flats.

Last October, a mass cleanup of the student area was carried out after the death of Sophia Crestani, killed at a flat party, following a request from her parents.

* Comments on this article are now closed.