The Star: July 27, 2023

KIWIS ARE spending more
on their credit cards to keep up
with the rising cost of living,
prompting a warning from a
financial expert who says it
won’t be sustainable in the long
term.
The outstanding balance on
personal credit card debt has
risen from $5.495 billion in May
2022 to $5.63b in May this year,
Reserve Bank figures show.
Credit card spending fell
A new
frontier in
rubbish
trucking
• By John Spurdle
A NEW rubbish truck doing
the rounds is going places no
rubbish truck has ever gone
before.
Waste Management NZ
operator trainer Jason Segal said
the truck is ideally suited to go
places the larger trucks can’t.
“We’ll utilise these in areas
such as rest homes with narrow
pathways.
“The hillier parts of Cashmere
are a prime example of where
we have a lot of private lanes,
a lot of areas that we can’t get
larger vehicles, especially those
steep narrow streets,” he said.
The low-emission diesel
truck is the first in Waste
Management NZ’s Christchurch
during the pandemic as people
paid down their debt as they
couldn’t spend money as easily
during lockdown periods.
But since September
outstanding balances have
risen each month for the same
comparable month the year
before.
Personal finance lead at
Sorted, Tom Hartmann, said
Kiwis appear to be using credit
debt to handle cost of living
fleet to have two separate
chambers.
It means workers can
separately collect rubbish,
recycling or organics at the
same time, without crosscontamination.
To ensure crosscontamination
isn’t an issue,
Segal said the trucks are cleaned
at the end of each day, and
washed out before a different
waste stream is introduced.
• Public Interest Journalism
funded through NZ On Air
EN ROUTE: Driver Mike
Sullivan and operator
trainer Jason Segal with
the new rubbish truck.
PHOTOS: JOHN SPURDLE
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Cost of living pushes up credit card debt
pressures, based on data from
credit bureau Centrix.
Centrix showed credit
payments rose to 426,000 in
June, up 15,000 month on
month with a sharp increase
in the number of unsecured
loans falling into arrears last
month.
Said Hartmann: “If you are
getting by on a credit card, you
want it to be the lowest-interest
credit card on the market.
• Watch the video at
starnews.co.nz
Thursday July 27 2023 The Star
NEWS 3
In Brief
Earthquake appeal
trust to end
A trust set up to distribute
almost $100 million in
donations made in the
aftermath of the earthquakes
is being wound up. The
Christchurch Earthquake
Appeal Trust has distributed
about $106m, made up of
$92m of donations and
interest earned on the money.
Fundraising stopped several
years ago and all monies
have been distributed, the
Department of Internal Affairs
said. The city council received
about $21m for a number of
different projects, including
footbridges across the Avon,
the Edmonds Band Rotunda,
the Heathcote Community
Centre and water attractions in
the eastern suburbs.
Innovative project
focuses on solar farm
A new way of farming could
find its home on the banks of
the Rakaia River. North Rakaia
Ltd wants to put a solar farm
and agricultural innovation
campus called Kilvarock
Solar Village on 124 hectares
of land on North Rakaia and
South Two Chain Rds. It was
originally proposed to have 900
residential units, 200 of which
would be contained in 33 threestorey
apartment buildings,
plus educational facilities, a
supermarket, and agriculture
production for animals and
plants, all powered by an
on-site solar farm. Project
manager James Lunday said the
company has now parked the
housing to focus on the solar
farm and innovation hub.
Port company raises
money for kids
Lyttelton Port Company
staff have raised $6380 for
Cholmondeley Children’s
Centre, buying raffle tickets
for a signed 2023 Crusaders
jersey. Staff bought over 600
tickets and the money collected
was matched dollar for dollar
by LPC, with all funds going
to Cholmondeley Children’s
Centre in Governors Bay.
Time
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