Kawerau District Council resumes kerbside recycling   

THE separation of rubbish has resumed in the Kawerau District this week in COVID-19 Level 1.

After two weeks’ notice, the Kawerau District Council resumed the collection of separate recycling, greenwaste and general refuse on Monday, June 15.

The Council is encouraging residents to revert to separating their rubbish and is delivering a one-page flyer to all Kawerau residents as a reminder of what can be recycled and disposed of in the greenwaste bin.

During the COVID-19 pandemic the Council continued to provide essential services including the collection of rubbish.

However, when New Zealand moved to COVID-19 Level 4, which posed an extreme risk of community transmission, the Council stopped collecting kerbside recycling. Instead, residents were able to put all their rubbish, recycling and greenwaste into one bin which was collected each week.

The main reason for this was to remove the risk to staff who in the Kawerau District empty the recycling crates by hand.

“When staff are emptying recycling crates containing glass and plastic bottles, and cans, the physical process of emptying these crates containing items that people may have drank out of, is where the risk comes in,” Kawerau District Council manager operations and service Hanno van der Merwe said.

Having the Transfer Station re-open in Level 3 enabled people to take any recycling that they had been stockpiling.

As well as resuming kerbside recycling collection, the Council has also recommended the greenwaste collection service. Kawerau is split into six zones for greenwaste collection, which is collected each fortnight.

Mr van der Merwe said he was thankful for the positive support and feedback from residents during the COVID-19 pandemic about the rubbish collections.

“Waste is a big issue and like many other Councils, Kawerau are looking for the best ways to manage it.” 

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For more information, please contact:

Tania Humberstone, Communications Manager

M 027 464 3785