Over the past two weeks the Hurunui District Council has offered residents the opportunity to dispose of their hazardous waste at three different drop off points. These were hugely popular with 3.35 tonnes of hazardous waste collected. The three drop offs took place in Cheviot, Waikari and Culverden and were all attended by a large number of residents. The council’s Waste Minimisation Team Leader, Sally Cracknell, says it was fantastic to see such a great uptake of the scheme with a considerable amount of hazardous waste dropped off.

“These initiatives are special for our district particularly with so much rebuild work happening post- quake, so it is pleasing to see our residents making use of the drop offs and cleaning up their stored waste.”

Residents were able to drop off a range of wastes such as gas bottles, light bulbs and tubes, paint, stains and solvents, household and garden chemicals, car and electric fencing batteries, and agrichemicals.

Local resident, David Croft, who attended the Culverden drop off says the drop off events were a great opportunity for the rural community to have assistance to manage unwanted hazardous substances properly. “These are substances, which are so easily overlooked and the temptation to inappropriately dispose of them exists, but with the support of the council the Hurunui community has been provided with an opportunity to manage them correctly.”

As a result of the high uptake of the initiative, the council is currently arranging an additional drop off to take place in Hanmer Springs during May. The initiative is funded via the Ministry for the Environment’s earthquake waste management project.

© Scoop Media