The unstaffed recycling centre in Raetihi is causing headaches for Ruapehu District Council staff.
Photo / RDC
The unstaffed recycling centre in Raetihi is causing headaches for Ruapehu District Council staff.
Photo / RDC
Recycling in Raetihi is causing problems for the Ruapehu District Council, with overflowing bins and rubbish at an unstaffed station on State Highway 4.
However, residents say they don’t want to lose it.
The council is asking the community for help to resolve problems with the facility, which it says costs $60,000 per year to operate.
Council executive infrastructure manager Vini Dutra said sustainable solutions were needed.
“We are open to considering all options, and while closure would be a last resort, we may unfortunately need to do so if the issues cannot be resolved,” he said.
“The unmanned facility is grappling with a range of inter-related issues including excessive volumes, improperly presented recycling materials, contaminated recycling, and non-recyclable rubbish being dumped at the site.”
Raetihi Promotions Charitable Trust chairman Geoff Anderson said people were leaving recycling beside the bins rather than taking it home again.
The issue was on the agenda at Waimarino-Waiouru Community Board meeting last week.
Anderson said he couldn’t stay for the whole discussion but he was told there were some good suggestions, which was very positive.
In response to a Facebook post about the situation by Raetihi-based radio station Peak FM, one resident suggested that the $60,000 cost could be used to pay someone to manage the recycling site.
“Considering Raetihi has more permanent population than Ohakune and this recycling space is maybe a tenth of what Ohakune has, what does the council expect?” another said.
Bins at the unstaffed recycling station in Raetihi are being constantly overfilled.
Photo / RDC
Dutra said there were uncleaned and improperly sorted recyclables which rendered a lot of the material non-recoverable.
That meant it had to be sent to landfill.
He said non-recyclable rubbish, including food waste and occasionally animal carcasses, had also been dumped at the site.
“The current situation at the recycling station is simply unsustainable,” Dutra said
“With current financial pressures, the council received feedback that the cost of maintaining the site could be better redirected elsewhere.”
Raetihi has weekly kerbside rubbish, recycling, and food scrap collection services, and access to the Waimarino Transfer Station in Ohakune.
Anderson said not all Raetihi residents could travel to Ohakune with their recycling.
“Also, some Raetihi residents don’t live here full time and don’t want to leave bins at the kerbside if they are going to be away for a week or two.
“I believe most people are trying to use the facility responsibly so the problems should be resolvable.”
Dutra said the decision on the future of the station would be guided by community feedback and the effectiveness of any interim solutions to reduce the current strain.
“The closure of the site would be a significant step, but it may become necessary if we cannot together resolve the ongoing issues. We invite the community to work with us to find the best path forward.”
Residents are advised to contact their council or community board members or send an email to info@ruapehudc.govt.nz
Liz Wylie is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. She joined the editorial team in 2014 and regularly covers stories from Whanganui and the wider region. She also writes features and profile stories.
