Reminder to recycle responsibly

Staff at the Rakiura Resource Recovery Centre on Stewart Island would like to remind people about the importance of responsible recycling after two isolated incidents in recent times have resulted in health and safety being compromised.

David Squire, at the Rakiura Resource Recovery Centre, recalled two specific cases where the recycling of goods by the general public could have led to serious consequences.

Recently, a bag of used nappies and sanitary pads was found among a collection of baby clothes that had been left at the centre.

"The main concern here was the spreading of disease. I had to throw out the entire content of what was brought in because of the health risk," Mr Squire said.

There are also a number of cases where customers bring in ashes that, although they believe are harmless, have ignited shortly after being left at the centre. Mr Squire said that an incident of this nature took place just prior to the Christmas holidays.

"We were very lucky that the ashes in question were left outside in an open skip. If they had caught fire inside, we could have lost the whole recycling shed," he said.

Mr Squire said the majority of people who recycle are conscientious of the goods they pass on to the centre and hopes that they will continue to lead by example.

"A lot of people make a great effort to recycle responsibly. We want to remind everybody that if they can be as careful as possible with their recycling, then dangerous incidents can be avoided," he said.