Big changes to waste collection
SWEEPING changes to waste collection services are coming to the Queenstown Lakes district.
Mayor Jim Boult announced on Friday the new districtwide solid waste services contract had been awarded to Waste Management New Zealand, which would partner with local group Wastebusters to deliver a vastly improved service to the community.
Under the new contract a new threebin system would be introduced, along with various environmentally friendly solutions to ensure a more efficient service.
‘‘From July next year, we’ll be saying goodbye to the plastic blue bags and black crates. In their place residents will have three wheelie bins. One smaller 140litre bin for waste to landfill, a 140litre bin for glass recycling and a larger 240litre bin for mixed recyclables.
‘‘Not only that, we’ll see some clever solutions such as electronic tagging of wheelie bins so we can keep track of what bin belongs where, cameras to monitor and help reduce contamination and a collection day app so you can easily keep track of what day to put your bin out.’’
Contractors would also be collecting waste from public litter bins using electric bikes, a first for New Zealand, he said.
Waste Management managing director Tom Nickels said the decision would set ‘‘a new benchmark for other communities across New Zealand’’.
‘‘We are excited by the challenge of making council’s sustainability vision happen, and looking forward to bringing worldclass services and worldleading innovations to the district in mid2019,’’ he said.
Wastebusters general manager Sue Coutts said partnering with Waste Management allowed both organisations to focus on what they did best.
‘‘We feel confident that we can achieve more for our community by working together and we think the partnership will fasttrack our district’s progress towards zero waste.’’
Mr Boult said more details on how the new contract services would be rolled out to the community would be available soon.
‘‘In the meantime I encourage everyone to start thinking about how they manage their waste at home to get ready for the change in service next year.’’