A Blenheim woman has called on the Marlborough District Council to take its own zero waste policy more seriously and find ways to educate people on reducing waste starting with kerbside recycling.
In her submission to the Long Term Council Community Plan, Karen Walshe said most councils around the country encouraged the reduce, reuse recycle approach with many, including Kaikoura, also adopting a zero waste approach.
Blenheim, by contrast, has only just seriously started recycling with the opening of the new recycling centre, Ms Walshe wrote.
Ms Walshe said while the council was doing very positive work, Blenheim was far behind other communities both nationally and internationally for recycling and sustainable waste management.
She said many people did not recycle, largely because they did not realise the need for it, and kerbside recycling would help change people’s attitudes particularly because Marlborough’s industries relied on a clean, green image.
“Council should be looking out for our community, out to the next 50 years, not the next three rather than just continuing to dig pits and sticking rubbish in them. We don’t let farmers do that any more, so why do it in our towns?”
The recycling market, which recently took a hit, was bouncing back, she said.
Although council has a zero waste policy, Ms Walshe said as a ratepayer she had not seen much evidence of it.
Vision and energy was needed to inform the public, she said.
She said Scandinavian communities with populations the size of Marlborough and bigger had found ways to live sustainably, with one town even using its own solid waste to create electricity.
Closer to home, Kaikoura adopted a zero waste to landfill policy in 1998 when it became clear they fast were running out of space to dump rubbish.
Thanks to recycling and a public awareness, Kaikoura now achieves 60 per cent diversion away from their landfill, making them a national leader in waste management.
“I just don’t think we’re looking internationally or even nationally at what’s around. So we make the same old mistakes that have already been made. Why don’t we look at what they’ve done.”
Verbal submissions, to the plan, including Ms Walshe’s will be heard at the special council meetings scheduled from today until.
Reference: http://www.stuff.co.nz
