Kerbside recycling for Kerikeri-Waipapa refuse collection routes

Kerikeri-Waipapa residents on existing refuse collection routes will be able to recycle at the kerbside with the introduction of a recycling collection trial from July 3.

The Far North District Council has decided to introduce kerbside collections as an alternative to establishing a resource recovery centre on a site at State Highway 10 near the Waimate North junction.

The collections will also replace the existing recycling facility at the Kerikeri Memorial Hall which has grown to the point where it is inappropriate for a central location and which is on land required for vital infrastructural works. However the recycling site at the hall will be kept open for two weeks (until July 17) as a back-up while people get used to recycling at the kerbside.

The kerbside trial applies only to people whose household rubbish is collected on Thursdays and Fridays – generally speaking, this means householders in and around Waimate North, Kerikeri and Waipapa.

They will be able to get a free 40-litre recycling bag with each purchase of one or more refuse bags for two weeks from Saturday June 28. The recycling bags are available from the same outlets as refuse bags and will cost $1 each after the free phase-in period.

They can be used for plastic bottles and containers Grades 1 to 7, glass bottles and jars, and aluminium cans and metal tins/cans. Paper and cardboard can be flattened, folded and tied or put in plastic carrier bags for collection at the same time.

“People will need to take care to separate their refuse from the recyclables because the whole exercise will be pointless if the two are mixed together in the recycling bag,” says Water, Wastewater and Refuse manager Peter Johnson.

“We hope they will realise that the more they recycle, the less refuse they have to put out for collection. The convenience of being able to recycle at the gateway is a definite plus and there are economic benefits for those who drive some distance in order to separate their rubbish.”

As well, contractors Waste Works Limited has agreed to provide up to four modern recycling bins that could be installed for the use of communities on the periphery of the rubbish collection routes. Exact locations have yet to be determined and the council will be consulting with communities to get their support.

Mr Johnson said the kerbside trial would enable the council to gauge public reaction to the new service and could lead to kerbside recycling in other refuse collection areas if it proved a success.