Recycling boost ‘not enough’

A $50,000 funding boost for Upper Hutt’s popular recycling station has not gone far enough to save it from the ire of an environmentally-minded resident.

The Upper Hutt City Council’s (UHCC) Park St station was established as part of a trial last January and has been under pressure from users. The converted shipping container has periodically been filled beyond capacity or been the scene of dumping outside its opening hours.

Despite the extended services which the funding will bring Marian Vos says it will do little to solve fundamental accessibility problems.

Vos said the city’s sole recycling station could only be used by people who were able and willing to drive to it. The site was too far away from a large proportion of Upper Hutt residents who were likely choosing not to recycle because of the inconvenience.

Limited opening hours also precluded people such as shift workers from accessing the service. Steps at the station made it difficult for elderly and disabled people to access the receptacles, she said.

RECYCLING SCHEMES

In 2013, a user-pays kerbside recycling collection system replaced Upper Hutt City Council’s rates funded collections.

Reasons for the change to the userpays system were: a reduction in rates increases; the safety of contractors who had to handle broken glass; tidier streets as recycling materialwas often spread by the wind or plastic bags containing recycling material burst and spilled contents.

The recycling station on Park St opened in January, 2017, to supplement kerbside collections. It has been open three days aweek.

Initially intended as a 12-month trial, it was announced the Park St station would be given a $50,000 funding increase, allowing it to be open six days aweek from July.

‘‘It really annoys me. It’s backwards. The council’s not pulling though on recycling.’’

Vos said the council had a lot to learn from Lower Hutt’s recycling station system. The Hutt City Council ran several stations which were open 24 hours a day. Users did not have to travel far to access services and a single station did not have to bare the pressure of the entire city’s recycling needs.

The UHCC was ‘‘going backwards’’ in its commitment to sustainability, Vos said.

The station was inferior to the kerbside collection which the council stopped funding in 2013. Many people could not afford the user-pays system that replaced it.

The stacks of material left beside locked or overflowing containers at Park St showed there was an obvious appetite for recycling infrastructure in Upper Hutt.

‘‘The council needs to wake up and see people want to recycle.’’

A council spokesman said the Park St station was meant to supplement privately contracted kerbside recycling collections.

The cost of the user-pays collection could be significantly reduced in waste and recycling collection ‘‘combos’’ available through providers.

The $50,000 funding boost had been allocated as part of the council’s 2018-2028 Long Term Plan. It would double the number of days the station is open from three to six and increase its capacity.

The council invited any feedback, the spokesman said.