INDEPENDENT NEWS

Seven landfill sites proposed for the city

Published: Tue 13 May 2003 01:45 PM
Seven landfill sites proposed for the city
North Shore City Council ' s latest hard-hitting campaign including the threat of seven landfill sites being developed aims to get people thinking about the amount of rubbish they produce.
Bus shelters near parks and schools throughout North Shore City will be advertising proposed landfill sites that could become a reality if the community does not start taking action to reduce, reuse and recycle its rubbish.
North Shore City Council ' s waste prevention officer, Danielle Kennedy, says the shock tactic is trying to hit home what could happen if people do not make an effort to reduce the amount of rubbish that currently goes to landfills.
" Households in North Shore City send over 30,000 tonnes of rubbish to landfills every year, which is the weight of over 4,200 elephants and enough to fill 740 buses. More than 45 per cent of this rubbish is organic, " says Mrs Kennedy.
" While we are one of the leading cities for recycling, we need to recycle more, take steps to reduce waste at the source, and compost our organic rubbish if we want to make a significant difference to the environment, " she says.
The council ' s landfill advertising campaign is one of the local initiatives linked to the national push by the Ministry for the Environment to reduce rubbish.
Other local initiatives include offering free composting courses, discount vouchers for $10 off a compost bin or worm farm, or one free garden bag or bin collection; and promoting reusable cloth shopping bags available from Pak ' n ' Save supermarkets.
The council ' s works and environment committee chairperson, Joel Cayford, says North Shore ' s rubbish is currently taken to landfill in neighbouring Rodney and they do not like it either.
" We had landfills at Barrys Point and at Devonport in Ngataringa Bay, which are now full and closed, but if residents have suggestions where they would like the next North Shore City landfill to go, I'll be happy to receive them. Of course, the better alternative is to recycle more and produce less rubbish so existing landfills last longer, " says Councillor Cayford.
There are eight easy ways that people can reduce rubbish:
* Recycle cardboard, paper, glass, cans and plastic types 1, 2 and 5
* Buy economy size products, concentrates and refills
* If a plastic bag is not needed, don ' t take one
* Buy products with recyclable packaging
* Compost garden rubbish and kitchen scraps
* Mulch lawn clippings
* Keep garden rubbish that can ' t be mulched or composted separate
* Take these actions at home and work.

Next in New Zealand politics

Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
By: New Zealand Government
Parliamentary Network Breached By The PRC
By: New Zealand Government
GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan
By: New Zealand Government
Tax Cuts Now Even More Irresponsible
By: New Zealand Labour Party
New Zealand Provides Further Humanitarian Support To Gaza And The West Bank
By: New Zealand Government
High Court Judge Appointed
By: New Zealand Government
View as: DESKTOP | MOBILE © Scoop Media