New bins on the way
New recycling crates will be delivered to Waikato households soon as part of the new refuse and recycling services.
The new teal blue recycling crates are being introduced as part of a range of measures to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.
From Friday 1 July a user-pays system will be introduced requiring residents to purchase pre-paid stickers for their refuse bags.
The aim is to encourage people to recycle more items, more often, says Waikato District Council general manager Service Delivery Tim Harty.
“We hope these new recycling crates will help people reduce the amount of waste they throw away each week. A guide will accompany each crate to explain the upcoming changes and to help people identify which items can actually be recycled.”
Over 25,000 55 litre crates will be delivered from Friday 27 May onwards. People are encouraged to hold onto, and continue using; their old recycling crates and up to three recycling crates per household will be collected each week from July 1.
“Each household that already receives a recycling collection will be given an additional crate. Residents in the north of the district who haven’t received a recycling collection before but receive a kerbside service will receive two crates.
“An astounding 64 per cent of waste currently sent to landfill in the Waikato doesn’t need to be there and could be put to better use,” he said.
“Approximately 22 per cent of that is recyclable. Waikato District Council is committed to improving our recycling rates, working towards our zero waste targets and delivering these new crates is the first step towards achieving that goal.”
Quick Facts:
• 37% of the refuse sent to landfill in the Waikato district is currently kitchen waste
• 36% is organic/compostable waste
• 22% is items that are recyclable through the Council recycling service
For more information click here.
Where does one get these stickers and how much are they?
Are the normal black bags from super markets etc still OK?