Copy of an article that appeared in this week’s Capital Times
A Wellington entrepreneur rubbishes one of the reasons Wellington City Council gives for getting rid of the green recycling bins – to prevent rubbish flying into the streets on windy days.
To eliminate this problem, Amanda Hargreaves and her husband [ed: nearly!] Tai Haronga, have designged a net that fits over the bins to stop the problem.
The Hutt and Dunedin City Councils have already made a small order for the patented net.
“Tai was fed up seeing recyclable material floating in the sea when he was out diving or fishing and decided to do something about it” says Hargreaves.
The stretchy nets, which allow users to fit more into the bins too, would cost an initial $8.
She says replacing the bins with plastic bags, paid for by ratepayers, will simply create more waste.
Celia Wade-Brown, the council’s Environment portfolio leader, says there is overwhelming support from the public to keep the green bins and it is up to the individual if they want to buy a net [ed: or it could be up to the Council to supply them!!]
An e-petition on the council’s website ‘to stop council getting rid of the green bins’ has received more than 7700 supporters [ed: you should see the furore in the facebook groups too!]
“They need to be aware that the nets might slow down collection” says Wade-Brown [ed: rubbish! we've tested and talked with the collectors and it won't]
The council is expected to consult on the future of kerbside recycling in early April. For more information see www.wellington.govt.nz and www.enviroflexinet.com
