Recycling a load of rubbish says Eastbourne environmentalist

Thursday, 26 January 2017

Sally Bain uses an old metal bin with a lid for her recycling. She wants the council to do away with open recycling bins that contribute to litter.

Sally Bain is fed up with the amount of rubbish in Lower Hutt and wants Hutt City Council to have a re-think about recycling.

The Eastbourne environmentalist is involved in pest control and other environmental projects and the amount of rubbish she encounters is behind her doubts about recycling.

This photo was taken on a day a weather bomb was predicted to hit Lower Hutt. The green recycling bin was one of many jammed with unsecured recycling throughout the city.

'Open recycling bins are disastrous for the city. We should have more than enough skills and engineering designs to create something much better.'

Lower Hutt is a windy city and it annoys her that so many people make no effort to contain their recycling.

**READ MORE:

* Call to make getting rid of rats sexy

* Sniffer dog called in to find penguins

* Public keen to see results of recycling

* Recycling station to re-open**

Recently the council went ahead with a recycling day, despite a weather bomb hitting that day.

The council, she said, needed to recognise that windy hilly suburbs needed a much better system.

One of her favourite areas of the city is the Hutt river mouth and the Hikoikoi Reserve.

Instead of being a beautiful area that we can all be proud of, she said it had been ruined by rubbish.

Although it was not all from recycling, she saw it as a sign of how little we care about our environment.

Although Bain wanted the council to devise a better way to recycle, she believed residents all had to accept some responsibility.

'The consumer has the power so unless people demand more from the council, the council won't do much.'

The council cound play a greater role in encouraging people not to litter and to recycle more responsibly.

Unless attitudes changed, Bain said the problem with litter would only get worse.

'How do we make picking up your rubbish sexy? How do we make it appealing to people on a daily basis?'

Council environmental sustainability manager Jez Patridge agreed that rubbish being blown out of recycling bins was a 'serious' issue.

The council organised and supports regular clean ups of beaches, water ways and reserves, to deal with the rubbish, she said.

It also sold nets that could be attached to recycling bins.

'These are available to purchase at cost price from council offices at $13, and council encourages the use of these via promotions and occasional subsidised offers.'

Having open recycling bins was not ideal in a windy city, Patridge said and the council was looking at changing to a wheelie bin system, which was used in Wellington City,

Bain recycles regularly and supported the council providing the service.

Rather than using the council bin, she uses an old metal bin with a lid.