Seasonal spike in rubbish and recycling
17 January 2015
Up to 25 tonnes of recyclables a day have been processed at the Rotorua Recycle Centre over the holiday period.
The summer holidays are an extra busy time for Rotorua Lakes Council's solid waste staff. On the busiest days in the past few weeks 20 to 25 tonnes of recyclable material was deposited at the city's recycle centre, compared to between 5 and 8 tonnes on a normal day at other times of the year.
The biggest increases were in glass and plastic deposits during the weeks following Christmas.
To cope with the annual spike staffing has been increased for the main holiday period and there are more frequent visits to top holiday spots to clear rubbish bins. Council has provided 180-litre bins in areas most popular with holidaymakers and for the most part, people have been keeping these areas tidy.
The extra busy period is expected to continue until early February.
Rotorua Lakes Council operates a recycling centre on the outskirts of the central city and four transfer stations in the district (at Okere, Reporoa, Mamaku and Tarawera). There is also a section at the district landfill where recyclable materials are collected.
The recycle centre near the inner city accepts plastic, glass, metal, cardboard, paper and electronic equipment while transfer stations accept paper, cardboard, glass, metal and a selection of plastics.
The landfill accepts all plastics, glass, metal, cardboard, paper, electronic equipment, whiteware, concrete and green waste.
The private transfer station on Te Ngae Road, operated by Waste Management, also accepts recyclable material.
Tips for reducing your household rubbish:
o Think about the packaging you're buying along with those products - consider buying items with less packaging.
o Use newspaper to line your rubbish bin instead of plastic
o Bake your own bread and make your own muesli bars to reduce the amount of packaging you buy
o Use newspapers as a weed mat in your garden
o Re-use Tetrapaks - turn them into seedling trays
o Buy from bulk food stores - take your own container
o Recycle if you don't already - the Rotorua Recycling Centre takes a wide range of recyclables
o Wash and re-use plastic bags
o Take your own organic cloth grocery bags to the supermarket
o Grow your own veges
For more tips and information go to: http://bit.ly/1CcvgNt (www.rubbishfree.co.nz)