Residents speak at waste management hearing

A RUBBISH collection centre in Glenorchy, and more funding for education around sustainability and waste management were ideas aired during a submissions hearing on Thursday.

The Queenstown Lakes District Council’s draft Waste Minimisation and Management Plan attracted 199 submissions.

During the hearing in Queenstown, Robert Bakhuis, of the Glenorchy Community Association, sought the establishment of a new, enclosed, collection site in the town to reduce the amount of household waste, from camper vans, being dumped in overflowing rubbish bins which were not being cleared frequently enough.

He also encouraged the council to issue fines to people caught littering.

‘‘If people . . . get a whacking great fine for littering, the word soon gets around and it might help us.’’

Danelle Jones, of Sustainable Glenorchy, echoed Mr Bakhuis’ thoughts.

At present, if residents who lived ‘‘up the valley’’ put their rubbish bins out for collection and did not bring them back in within an hour, they ‘‘start to fill up’’ with other people’s rubbish.

While a collection point may not be the ‘‘perfect solution’’, the town was more concerned about solving the problem than the means by which it was solved, she said.

Esther Whitehead, of Sustainable Queenstown, congratulated the council on the draft plan, but felt there were some things ‘‘missing’’ and sought for the ‘‘first step’’ to be a focus on education, and providing more money in the budget for it.

Damian Foster, of Enviroschools, agreed.

The ‘‘throwaway culture’’ we now lived in was ‘‘learned behaviour’’ and, for children, sustainability could be ‘‘the norm’’.

He sought additional funding for the Enviroschools programme. At present he had six expressions of interest from early childhood centres and would ‘‘very much like to meet that demand’’.

Wanaka Wastebusters manager Sue Coutts said the district could do better and asked if in 15 years it would still be the ‘‘premier destination’’.

‘‘We know we’ve got problems. ‘‘The system we’re using is broken . . . it would be really great to step out of it and start with a clean slate,’’ she said.