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NEWS<br />
16 <strong>North</strong> <strong>Canterbury</strong> <strong>News</strong>, <strong>July</strong> <strong>23</strong>, <strong>2020</strong><br />
Plastic-free as away of life<br />
By SHELLEY TOPP<br />
PlasticFree <strong>July</strong> is aglobal<br />
movementchallengingpeople to<br />
reduce plasticuse, but for Eco<br />
Educate’sLesley Ottey, it is just<br />
business as usual.<br />
Lesley’s SouthbrookResource<br />
Recovery Parkbasedbusiness<br />
provides informativeworkshops for<br />
schools, communities and the health<br />
sector to show people simple ideas<br />
to help reduce waste. ‘‘I am not that<br />
fussed on having aplasticfree<br />
monthbecause Ithink every month<br />
should be plasticfree,’’ she said.<br />
‘‘If we all just look at the little<br />
things we can do daily to reduce our<br />
use of plastic, we canachieve<br />
change.’’<br />
Swapping plastic shopping bags<br />
for reusable bagsand containers<br />
was agreat example of how to make<br />
astart, and if consumers were not<br />
happyabout the plasticused to wrap<br />
or dispensethe products they buy<br />
(suchasthe plastic scoops<br />
contained in manybrands of soap<br />
powder) they should ‘‘feeditback to<br />
the manufacturer’’,Lesley says.<br />
‘‘Allthese manufacturers have<br />
consumerhotlines seeking<br />
customer feedback,and if everybody<br />
voices their concerns we may see<br />
change.’’<br />
PaulaDouglas, an administrative<br />
assistant for Three Waters, a<br />
division of the Waimakariri District<br />
Council’s utilities and roading<br />
department, has also been<br />
encouraging colleaguesinweekly<br />
newsletters on the council’s intranet<br />
to make ‘‘simpleswaps’’ in daily life<br />
to reduce plastic waste.<br />
Thesecan include initiatives such<br />
as buying groceriesfrom outlets<br />
Ecofriendly ... Waimakariri District Council staff member Paula Douglas has<br />
been encouraging her colleagues to reduce plastic waste.<br />
PHOTO: SHELLEY TOPP<br />
with bulk bins, usingbeeswax food<br />
wrapsfor lunchtime sandwiches,<br />
and buyingproducts in glass rather<br />
than plastic containers.<br />
‘‘Theproductsinglass containers<br />
oftentend to be made in New<br />
Zealand, too, so thisisalso agood<br />
way of supportinglocal<br />
manufacturers,’’ she says.<br />
Purchasing areusable waterbottle,<br />
and usingsilk dental floss and<br />
bamboo toothbrushes werealso<br />
simple ways of reducing everyday<br />
use of plastic.<br />
Poor recycling<br />
habits revealed<br />
By DAVID HILL<br />
Waimakariri residents are<br />
being asked to check what<br />
they put in the yellow<br />
recycling bin.<br />
Recent yellowbin audits<br />
have revealed some<br />
residents have got into<br />
‘‘bad habits’’ after the<br />
lockdown.<br />
Mayor Dan Gordon puts<br />
the change in habits down<br />
to ‘‘mixed messaging’’,<br />
which resulted from<br />
recycling being sent to<br />
landfill during the<br />
lockdown while recycling<br />
facility, Eco Central, was<br />
closed because of Covid19<br />
restrictions.<br />
‘‘There was mixed<br />
messaging around the<br />
waste collection coming<br />
out of Christchurch, saying<br />
that you could put<br />
anything in your yellow<br />
bins because it was going<br />
to landfill.<br />
‘‘It takes alot to get<br />
people recycling anyway,<br />
so once people get into bad<br />
habits it can take time to<br />
get them back into good<br />
habits.’’<br />
The result is too many<br />
yellow bins are failing<br />
council waste audits.<br />
As the contents of yellow<br />
bins are emptied into a<br />
truck, it can take just one<br />
bin with the wrong items to<br />
contaminate atruckload.<br />
‘‘We are back doing<br />
waste audits on properties<br />
so we can then identify<br />
those who are doing the<br />
right thing and those who<br />
are not,’’ Mr Gordon says.<br />
‘‘We need to turn this<br />
around and get people<br />
back to following the good<br />
practices they were<br />
following before the<br />
lockdown.’’<br />
Eco Educate rethink<br />
educator Lesley Ottey says<br />
‘‘there is room for<br />
improvement’’ and her<br />
advice is simple.<br />
‘‘If in doubt, throw it out.<br />
As long as it’s not<br />
hazardous it can go in the<br />
red bin and batteries can<br />
be dropped off at the<br />
Southbrook Resource<br />
Recovery Park.’’<br />
There are options the<br />
council can consider for<br />
repeat offenders, including<br />
disincentives and even<br />
the removal of the service.<br />
Advice is available on<br />
the Waimakariri District<br />
Council website around<br />
what can go in yellow bins.<br />
Much of the confusion<br />
surrounds plastics, with<br />
the yellow bin now accepting<br />
only rigid plastic<br />
containers and bottles<br />
marked with a1,2or5.<br />
All other plastic,<br />
including lids and soft<br />
plastics, need to go in the<br />
rubbish.<br />
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