Rubbish weather – literally
Streets in New Plymouth were left strewn with rubbish after winds of more than 50kmh sent recycling and food scraps bins, and their contents, flying.
The majority of yellow recycling and green food scrap bins were down in Mangorei Rd, between Junction Rd and Northgate Rd, yesterday morning.
Now people are being urged to put their bins out on the morning of collection to minimise the risk of a repeat.
Denis Wheeler was driving along Mangorei Rd about 1pm and said it was absolutely disgusting, with food scrap bins jammed under cars and rubbish blowing down the streets.
‘‘There was one (bin) rolling down the road in front of me.
‘‘I could have smashed into it if I had wanted to.
‘‘It was not a good look, they have got to do something about it.
‘‘You can’t put wheelie bins out on a windy day – they are too light.’’ Wheeler said it was unfair to expect rubbish truck drivers to not only empty the bins but chase rubbish down the street as well.
There were also reports of bins down and rubbish scattered on streets in Vogeltown and Highlands Park.
MetService reported wind speeds reaching 54kmh yesterday morning.
Pam Street was driving down Mangorei Rd and said it was a disaster with cars getting hit with rubbish.
‘‘There were aluminium cans, newspapers, cardboard, milk bottles, you name it, flying around. It is going to take an army to clean it up.’’
New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) is responsible for rubbish and recycling collection in the district.
On September 30, the council introduced a new 140-litre red landfill bin and a 23-litre food scraps bin to 28,500 households to go along with the existing yellow and blue recycling bins.
Since introducing them, NPDC has had 37 calls about problems from the windy conditions. ‘‘We live in a beautiful corner of New Zealand but it is an area known for seasonal weather conditions that can include heavy rain and wind,’’ Kimberley Hope, NPDC resource recovery manager, said in a statement.
‘‘With this in mind, we would recommend residents put out their bins before 7am on collection day rather than the night before, or if the weather is poor consider keeping your bin in if it is not too full.’’
Latches for the recycling and landfill bins can be collected from the Civic Centre in Liardet St for free until the end of October, after which they will be $4.
Hope said any bins lost or damaged while on the kerbside on collection day would be replaced by the contractor free of charge. NPDC’s contractor would collect extra litter near a bin if they saw it while emptying it, Hope said.
‘‘NPDC can carry out extra collections if the public tell us where there are issues.
‘‘Please call us on 06 759 6060 or email enquiries@npdc.govt.nz if you see any issues and we will send a contractor round to clear up any rubbish.’’