Councils crack down on plastic cup usage

As councillors return to work, after their post-election hiatus, even the most climate conscious are likely to pick up the emergency declaration debate again sipping from plastic.

The irony was not lost on Marlborough councillor Michael Fitzpatrick back in July, who pointed out during a climate change discussion that plastic cups were still being used in the council’s chambers.

Figures obtained under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) show Marlborough is far from alone, with about half of New Zealand’s 78 councils also splashing out on single-use plastic cups.

Councils bought close to 120,000 plastic cups last financial year, and while some of those were recyclable plastic, there was no guarantee as to where they ended up. But change could be on the way, with many councils eyeing eco-friendly alternatives.

Fitzpatrick said Marlborough District Council made the switch to biodegradable paper cups after the media got wind of their plastic purchases.

Last year the council bought 3000 plastic recyclable cups for ‘‘customer use’’ at its Seymour St reception and Blenheim library, and 4000 for ‘‘everywhere but reception and the library’’.

‘‘You look at these things every day, but don’t realise what you’re looking at sometimes,’’ Fitzpatrick said.

He said while environmental movements generally started ‘‘at the top’’, councils were just one part of the puzzle.

‘‘Everyone’s got to participate in the movement ... everyone’s got to show initiative,’’ he said.

Climate campaigner Budyong Hill praised councils for scrapping plastic cups, but reminded councillors there was still work to be done.

‘‘It’s good to start with the small things, but there’s no point patting ourselves on the back for getting rid of plastic cups, when there are far bigger things that we have to address and keep in mind,’’ he said.

Prompted by the Local Democracy Reporter request, two councils promised to rethink their purchases going forward.

O¯ po¯ tiki District Council chief executive Aileen Lawrie said the council would look at replacing its plastic cups, which were used as back-ups for meetings.

A South Waikato District Council spokeswoman said: ‘‘While this was not specifically on our radar to review, your question has prompted us to investigate suitable alternatives for our library users ... ’’

A Gore District Council spokeswoman, however, said the council had ‘‘no current plans’’ to stop chewing through about 6000 plastic cups each year.

LGOIMA responses showed most councils that bought plastic cups last year were looking at alternatives or had already made the switch.

Kaiko¯ ura District Council had fewer than 100 plastic cups left, favouring compostable potatobased cups for customers, while staff used reusable glasses.

Staff at Waitaki District Council were given a reusable cup after the council noticed staffers were ploughing through a ‘‘significant number’’ of nonrecyclable takeaway cups.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council said it was thinking about installing water fountains as part of its Regional House refurbishment, and Timaru District Council said it planned to put water fountains outside its three libraries.

Timaru was the worst plastic cup offender, buying 14,600 cups last year, followed closely by South Waikato, which bought 14,000.

WASTEMINZ chief executive Janine Brinsdon said she was glad to see about half of New Zealand councils had switched to ecofriendly alternatives.

‘‘These small changes are symbolic but important. The world has finite resources and there are alternative packaging options available, such as reusables and other containments which [are] not single-use.’’

A Marlborough woman who ‘‘lied’’ to Work and Income about her marital status, wrongly collected benefits of more than $180,000 over a decade.

Mary Elizabeth Wadsworth, 67, told the department she had separated from her husband and was living alone, and collected payments for a single person from 2008 to 2018.

The Ministry of Social Development investigated and established that Wadsworth had never separated from her husband. She was sentenced to 11 months’ home detention after pleading guilty in the Blenheim District Court on September 30 to charges of dishonest use of a document and obtaining by deception.

In 2004, Wadsworth, with her husband, was granted an invalid’s benefit. They were required to immediately tell the ministry of any change in circumstances that might affect their entitlements.

On September 16, 2008, Wadsworth told the ministry that she and her husband had separated.

The husband’s portion of the benefit was cancelled and the defendant’s benefit was reviewed to the rate of a single person from September 2008.

On May 1, 2016, Wadsworth turned 65 and began receiving New Zealand Superannuation.

In her application she said she was living alone and applied for the additional Living Alone Payment, which was granted.

She was interviewed regarding the matter last year and denied that she had been living with her husband or that she had lied to Work and Income.

Over a decade, she received a total overpayment of $182,932. Reparation was not sought. The overpayment was currently being repaid by deductions from the defendant’s Superannuation.