Today, Wednesday, is our last kerbside recycling collection (for the meantime!) It was a sad grey day when the boys set off this morning. The weather cheered up as we got going and so did the moods – thanks for all the cards, toots, high fives and the licorice all-sorts. The hardest thing is saying goodbye to our three staff members who have been made redundant with the end of the kerbside contract.
It’s not going to be the same without them and we wish them all the best. However, we love Wanaka and we love recycling, so we’re going to keep going strong.
Everything we do at the recycling centre on Ballantyne Rd will still be the same (or better) – the reuse shop, the yard and the recycling drop off. Lots of people have said they want to keep recycling with us, by coming down to drop their household recycling off here. That would be awesome!
We are introducing a small drop-off charge ($1) to pay for the recycling. The charge will start on Monday 5th March, and will cover up to 100 litres of recycling (a bit more than a black crate full). We’ve really squeezed the cost to keep the charge as low as we can. A month’s recycling for the price of a cup of coffee – it’s a pretty good deal. We’re also going to move the recycling drop off around the back of the shop to make it easier to park and unload recycling.
People have been telling us that it’s hard to get to the recycling centre if you work in town – so we’re extending our opening hours too. From Monday 5th March, we’ll be open 8am-5.30pm. It should make it easier for the locals to slip in before and after work. And the after-hours recycling drop-off will still be there beside the gate for late night recycling.
If you have any questions about how kerbside recycling is going to work from now on, call the council on 443 0024. The most frequently asked question to us has been which recycling materials do we make money on? The answer is aluminium, PET and HDPE plastics (number 1 and 2, examples are Coke bottles and milk bottles), paper and cardboard.