BACK TO BASICS

Auckland Council is offering grants of up to $ 50,000, and has spent more than $2.6 million since April 2013 on ideas to reduce waste. Surely it’s obvious that waste is caused by the number of consumers, and the way consumer products are produced, marketed and packaged, and that the only way to reduce it is to change this.

This is how we can reduce waste: Go back to glass milk bottles; Go back to brown paper bags for groceries; Go back to buying meat/fish from a butcher/ fishmonger who will wrap it in paper; Go back to having hardware stores where you could buy just the number of screws needed and have them put in a little brown paper bag; Go back to having enough land around your house for a vege patch and compost all organic waste; Go back to buying appliances that last almost a life time so that you don’t have to throw them away and buy new ones all the time; Have small families.

Unfortunately, population, profit and ‘‘progress’’ breed waste, and no amount of rate payer money will be able to stop these. Sarah Meikle

Birkdale

SPACE FOR DEVELOPMENT

North Shore residents are well aware that they are being railroaded out of their rights to retain the public use of open spaces in their town centres. Mayor Goff now states ‘‘..the Council’s got to use its money wisely...’’ but his council seems to have lacked this wisdom and driven the city deeply into debt!

Now Council is squeezing us to death by selling our open spaces and small parks to developers who will no doubt be delighted to build apartments, office blocks etc. to the maximum limits of the Unitary Plan. There are so many high rise projects proposed for Takapuna that its real culture will be lost in the rush to develop.

Public open spaces with gardens, sunlight and fresh air, clean beaches, improved public transport and a long-term solution for Lake Road - these issues are ignored. Goff says that every

Local Board is being asked to contribute surplus land. Goff’s solution appears to be designed to get the Council ‘‘out of jail’’ while the residents become prisoners in their challenging new environment.

Susan Wann

Hauraki

PLAN SECONDED

Welcome to Angela Antony’s ‘‘Future Proofing’’, Sep 5. Right on

AROUND THE BAYS

In North Shore Times Sept 5 Mayor Goff spoke about a shortage of parking bays for bus users. He also said the cost was $20,000 per bay. At present as Kaipatiki Local Board is well aware approx 15 people use Onepoto weekdays as a park and ride. Bus stop is just across the street.

I suggest to Mayor that, with some promotion, a further 50 spaces could be used in Onepoto without impacting on park users. Takapuna police have just finished putting up 3 signs, one at park gates, informing all that security cameras are operating in the area. 65 parking spaces at $20,000 each would save the city some $1.5 million dollars.

Kevin Fox

Northcote

HAVE YOUR SAY

Letters should not exceed 250 words and must have full name, residential address and phone number. The editor reserves the right to edit, abridge or withhold any correspondence without explanation. Letters may be referred to others for right of reply before publication. Email: nsnews@snl.co.nz Mail: North Shore Times, PO Box 79, Orewa.

Returning to glass milk bottles would reduce waste, a reader says.