Waipā recycling centre has been tipped up by rogue recyclers
Waipā’s woeful reputation for recycling continues.
Little could be sent for recycling because of significant contamination in Waipā’s glass collection last month, Transportation manager Bryan Hudson told the council’s Service Delivery committee this week.
Glass is the heaviest recycled material and as a consequence the weight sent for recycling was significantly down.
“There is still a risk of this continuing although more bin auditing effort will be used to try and counter contamination,” he said.
The blue 140-litre bins are for glass only, but contractors find all sorts of things in them.
The most common errors include people not washing out their glass, not removing the lids or putting plastics in them.
Waste Minimisation staff reported they received 10 applications for the latest community funding round.
All waste minimisation activities run by the council, including the salary of the waste minimisation officer and any waste minimisation projects, including advertising are covered by waste levy funding from the Ministry for the Environment.
Nine groups received total community funding of $40,968.
A successful Household Hazardous Waste Collection was held in Te Awamutu on June 16. More than 4700 kgs of waste was disposed of.
One will be held in Cambridge next month.
The team will run a Fashion Op Shop tour next month in Cambridge and Te Awamutu, Waste Minimisation officer Sally Fraser said.
For $10, participants get to ride the bus and get a free coffee for selected cafes.
Council’s last audit of domestic refuse showed that 2.1% of all waste from households was reusable textiles – around 0.2kg per household. Based on approximately 21,700 households, that is 4340 kgs of reusable textiles heading to landfill from houses in Waipā weekly.
Some clothes will be natural fabrics, or partially so, so will break down in landfill and release methane.
A free live Zoom workshop on How to do visible mending will also be held next month.
The Zoom session will demonstrate some easy ways residents can repair their own clothes, said Fraser.
“The online workshop will focus on teaching basic stitches and hand sewing techniques. It is perfect for anyone who feels intimidated picking up a needle and thread.”
Mainstream Green Behaviour Changer, Nicola Turner browsing second-hand shop Mint in Cambridge
