26 May 2010
All the talk about our new kerbside rubbish collection system over the past week has made me reflect on what a difference it has made in the city.
Introducing such a progressive system was a bold decision. It was always going to result in teething problems and confusion along the way, but overall the outcome for most residents has been extremely successful. And we are achieving our goal in reducing the amount of rubbish we as a city send to landfill.
Through our efforts each week to separate our recyclables, food and garden waste from general rubbish in our new wheelie bins we have diverted over 40,000 tonnes from the Kate Valley Landfill since the new system started in January last year.
When the system was first suggested, there were understandable concerns from some people in the community about how it would work. It did not take long, however, for people to catch on and as a city we are doing remarkably well.
The latest issue to arise is that bins are not being collected if the lids are open. There are very practical reasons that the operator requires bin lids to be closed and, while I'm not involved in the day-to-day business, I can see the sense in these requests. I do not think it is too difficult to comply and by far, the majority of Christchurch people are doing so.
As one letter-writer put it last week – either the bin is closed, or it is open. Whether it is open only slightly, or overflowing with rubbish is irrelevant – should we have road rules that say "Don't cross the centre line, but it's OK if it's only 20cm over"? I thought this was sound logic on a fairly straight-forward issue.
And another resident said when she has sticks poking out the top of her bin it only takes a few seconds with the clippers to trim the offending material, thereby ensuring the lid closes.
When this Council decided to introduce the new rubbish collection system, we were looking to create a better future for our city. We must work to build a sustainable city and infrastructure to ensure Christchurch can be enjoyed by generations to come. The introduction of the three wheelie bin kerbside collection system is a step toward achieving this goal. Christchurch people have embraced the new system and I am proud to say we have made a real difference.
