North Canterbury News: May 21, 2020

EXPLORE OXFORD &CUST
10 North Canterbury News, May 21, 2020
Oxford adjusts well to life under restrictions
By DAVID HILL
Oxford is staying positive amid
the Covid­19 restrictions.
Community leaders say the
town remains in good spirits
despite the uncertainty, and
residents were pleased to be
able to help two German
tourists stranded in the town.
Cr Wendy Doody said she was
thrilled to receive an email
from aGerman couple thanking
local residents for helping them
during the lockdown before
returning home last month.
‘‘They were just so grateful
for the kindness that was
bestowed on them.
‘‘I’m just so pleased that
Oxford was able to help them.’’
Cr Doody says she is pleased
to see some normality returning
as the country gradually moved
from alert level 4to2.
‘‘I walked down the street on
Mothers’ Day and it was great to
see people queuing for coffee
and keeping their distance.
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‘‘The supermarket has been
ultra busy and people have
been out walking and
exercising with their dogs and
saying ‘hi’.
‘‘It’s been really positive.’’
She says the council’s Zoom
meetings have been an
interesting experience.
‘‘I think those Zoom meetings
have been wonderful. They’ve
been nice and crisp. They have
to be over by acertain time, so
you whizz through it.’’
Oxford Community Trust coordinator
Jo Ealam says the
trust has been busy responding
remotely to the needs of the
community during the
lockdown, and is bracing for an
anticipated ‘‘onslaught’’ in the
coming months as the realities
of job losses and reduced
incomes begin to affect local
families.
But she says Oxford has
responded positively to the
lockdown.
Oxford­Ohoka Community
Board deputy chairman
Thomas Robson echoes those
sentiments.
‘‘I think, in general, most
residents feel very lucky to be
in acaring, rural area and
appreciate the measures taken
to try to keep them safe and
healthy, but are looking
forward to getting back to a
more normal way of life.’’
He says he has been
impressed by Oxford’s ‘‘usual
mode of community support
and spirit’’, with the community
trust continuing to run its food
bank and assisting essential
workers to meet child care
needs.
Volunteers have also been
making supermarket runs for
the most vulnerable.
‘‘The lovely autumn weather
has meant that many of our
residents have been out
walking and catching up on
yard work, with many gardens
looking smart and fences newly
painted.’’
In good humour ... German couple Susanne and Achim were stranded in
Oxford during the Covid­19lockdown,before returning to Germany.They
appreciated the community support they received.
PHOTO:SUPPLIED
Cust facility spurs more recycling
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By DAVID HILL
The Cust community is
reaping the benefits of having
its own recycling facility.
Arecent survey indicates
the CustRural Recycling
Facility has increased
recyclingand improved
awareness,Cust Community
NetworksecretaryYolande
Lawrence says.
The online survey was
completed in March, before
the lockdown. It received57
responses.
Morethan half of the
respondents said they were
now recycling more since the
trial began.
Comments indicated people
had stopped burning
recycling, are more aware of
whatisallowed in recycling
bins, and are recycling better
by cleaning and removing
lids.
“It has made me recycle,”
statedone respondent.
Praisewas alsogiven to the
WaimakaririDistrict Council
for minimisingthe carbon
footprint by reducing the
numberofcar trips to the
SouthbrookTransferStation,
which is becoming
increasinglycongested as the
district grows in size, Mrs
Lawrence says.
Regular audits of the
recycling bins by council staff
confirm the recycling facility
generally has less
contamination than the urban
yellow­bin recycling service
and, in their experience, is
generally better thanother
mixed­recycling bins, she
says.
Mrs Lawrence says she is
encouraged to see people
makinguse of the facility and
doing theirbit to recycle.
She hopesthe trial can be
extended for afurther six
months.
“At the beginning there
weresome teething issues,
not with the mixed­recycling
skip, but withthe cardboard
and paperone.
‘‘Initially, it proved too
small. Then the provision of a
larger open skip didn’t work
either as somepeople thought
it was for rubbish, also some
paper blew out to a
neighbouring property.
‘‘We thenreceivedalarger
cardboard and paper bin
purpose­made by Waste
Management, whichworked
really well.”
Mrs Lawrence thankedthe
council’s solid wastestaffand
the Cust Hotel for their
assistance withthe project.
“This initiativehas
succeeded thanks to the
combinedeffortsofaprivate
businessowner, the council
and the community,and
shows how we can achieve
more by working together.”
Arecycling future ... David
Ayers talks at the opening the
Cust Rural Recycling Facility last
year, when he was mayor.
PHOTO: FILE
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