Hastings District Council planning to keep essential services going

The Hastings district wastewater treatment plant at Clive. Waste is one of the essential services council wants to keep running throughout the staffing challenges of Covid.

As Covid-19 cases rapidly increase in Hawke's Bay, Hastings District Council is putting plans in place to help with the strain on essential services.

Kerbside recycling collection, apart from the cardboard and paper bin, will stop temporarily across Napier and the wider Hastings district because of Covid disruptions.
Recycling bins for glass, plastics and cans will not be collected until "further notice".
Hastings District Council and Napier City Council said today staff, including transport and sorting workers, have been affected by Covid.

"We can continue taking paper and cardboard because it requires less sorting on collection and goes straight to Hawk Packaging, who need this supply to produce fruit trays for our region," Craig Thew, Hastings District Council group asset manager, said.
"Plastics and cans, and glass collections are more time consuming and require transport to other regions."

Napier council acting director of infrastructure Debra Stewart said the councils will reinstate full recycling collections as soon as staffing levels allow.

Until then, plastics, cans and glass can either be stored or taken to one of Hastings' or Napier's recycling stations.

Private green waste collector Bay Environmental Bins revealed this week 60 per cent of its drivers were off work because of Covid, and warned customers of disruptions to their wheelie bin collection.

General waste wheelie bin collection has not been affected in the wider Napier and Hastings areas, the councils confirmed.

Council says while it has implemented measures to help keep the community as safe as possible, Covid could impact staffing levels.

Council chief executive Nigel Bickle said maintaining essential services was a priority in the face of the possibility of increasing numbers of staff away, either sick or needing to self-isolate.

"If community transmission in Hastings continues to surge, this will potentially put a strain on our resources," Bickle said.

"We may have to look at how we manage non-critical services temporarily if staff need to be away or redeployed to maintain critical services," he said.

Managing non-critical services means facilities such as the libraries and pools may need to close for short periods if there are not enough people available to work.

Critical services that will continue to operate include drinking, waste and stormwater, solid waste and animal control.

Bickle said, "We have planned for this, and our staff's health and safety and that of the community are paramount.

"We ask for your patience as we work through this."

Council is in regular contact with its contractors and is monitoring the situation, but notes that the contractors are under pressure with staffing resources at this time.

While all services continue as normal, that could change while the impacts of Covid continue to cause staffing shortages.

The HDC will keep the community informed of any changes through its website and social media platforms as it responds to the impact of Covid-19 in Hastings.

For more information and updates regarding council services and the Government's Covid-19 response, go to www.hastingsdc.govt.nz/our-council/covid-19/