AUCKLAND, New Zealand (Timesonline), March 27, 2008:By CAMERON BROADHURST, Howick and Pakuranga Times
EVEN before their arrival on the streets next month Manukau’s new recycling bins have become a focus of fearful anticipation in some quarters. A number of letters to the Times, as well as concerns raised at a local Grey Power meeting, suggest that elderly people and others are worried about the bins, particularly their manoeuvrability.
Long driveways up or down hills are putting people off the thought of trucking the bin up the drive (previously, green cartons could be transported in a car) when it’s full of two weeks’ worth of recyclable waste.
President of Howick and Pakuranga Grey Power Bill Mudgway says elderly widows with long driveways in particular were worried.
But Patricia Facenfield, senior environmental policy analyst for Manukau City Council is urging people to “give it a go”. She says if, after trying the new bins, people have complaints they should phone the council to let them know. But she says other councils using this style of container as rubbish bins are not encountering significant problems.
“People put the barriers up before they’ve tried,” she says.
Labour candidate for Botany Brendan Sheehan is suggesting that an ‘assistance required’ register be created for elderly or infirm people to sign up to by calling the council. Contractors who collected the bins would then come to a point on the resident’s property where the bin could be easily left and picked up.
Mr Sheehan says registers are already in use in Brisbane and other Australia cities, and are “common sense”, and he plans to raise the idea with the mayor in a meeting next week.
“I really think there needs to be some action before the bins are implemented,” he says.
Mr Mudgway says the register sounds like a great idea, while Ms Facenfield says it is something that the council will look into if there is enough interest. But she says such a step would have to wait until people have tried the bins first.
If bins get filled up early or people cannot get them there on the day, the new plant in Onehunga is available for the public to drop off recyclables themselves.
As for those dumping the wrong waste in the bins, Ms Facenfield says the collection trucks have cameras so the driver can monitor the contents and record the address should people need to be notified of mistakes. And she warns that multiple offenders will find their bins being left uncollected.
© Times Newspapers 2008
Seniors World Chronicle comments:
GREY POWER indeed! Shows how advocacy helps the Elderly anywhere.
