Letters: What a load of rubbish we create with all our consumer products

"Winston Peters is right when he attributes his being healthy at 80 to eating a diet of fresh fruit and vegetables." Photo / Mark Mitchell

Letters to the Editor

What a load of rubbish we create

We are living in a world where we are creating an unnecessary amount of rubbish.

Recently, our small 40-inch, 10-year-old TV, which was working well, told us Netflix and TV on demand were no longer supported.

This essentially means the TV’s manufacturer has an inbuilt 10-year planned obsolescence for the set. The next message would no doubt inform us that none of the usual free-to-air TV channels would be supported either.

Not wanting to give up on communication and the entertainment that comes with TV, we bought a new 43-inch TV set (these are small sets apparently). We were also forced to buy a soundbar because the inbuilt speakers that come with TVs these days produce such a horrible, unreal, tinny sound.

Now my second grizzle. The amount of packing material rubbish that just these two items produced was horrendous.

The cardboard once cut up filled an entire 120-litre council recycling wheelie bin while the polystyrene, which is a hideous non-recyclable material, filled another 120-litre bin. The cardboard we are told will be recycled, but the polystyrene goes straight to landfill.

All very lucrative for the manufacturer, but not so good for the environment.

And, of course, we are still left with having to dispose of the old TV set.

John Robert Jones, Mairangi Bay.

Cruel prank?

It is ironic and perhaps the cruellest April Fool’s prank of all that the minimum wage and benefits are increasing on April 1 (Mar 28). The need is real, but the relief felt by recipients will be fleeting.

The cost of providing accommodation has increased due to higher interest rates, council rates, interest non-deductibility, healthy homes etc, but landlords are unable to pass these costs on because tenants cannot afford to pay.

When incomes go up, rents will rise. Likewise, borrowers will be able to pay more for mortgages and house prices will rise. The extra income will go from tenants to property owners to banks, and soon the very people the April 1 increases are meant to help will be even worse off.

The answer is not to increase incomes (which makes New Zealand less competitive internationally), but to reduce the cost of living. One timely example: the Government should use the Reserve Bank to fund water infrastructure around the country at near-zero interest rates, thereby slashing rate increases. This method is proven around the world, including in New Zealand.

We need only the understanding and political will to provide relief here again.

Cliff Hall, Blockhouse Bay.

Stadium debate

Auckland councillors, please note sports writer Gregor Paul’s summation of the non-decision about the Auckland venue.

“This is Auckland, though, a city forever held hostage by small-minded procrastinators who say they don’t have the money to commit to aspirational and non-essential projects like a new stadium because, with limited funds, they have to prioritise essential city infrastructure projects and services.”

Okay, we’re strapped for cash, but that’s not an excuse not to think outside the square, be visionary, look at opportunities presented and work towards making Auckland a vibrant city of the future.

Beth O’Loughlin, Parnell.

Food for thought

Winston Peters is right when he attributes his being healthy at 80 to eating a diet of fresh fruit and vegetables (Mar 26). Evidently, “food and nutrition” is a mandatory core subject taught in all primary schools in Norway. I think it would be a great idea to do the same here in New Zealand.

If children learned how important it was, then hopefully they might go home and convince their parents to cut back on takeaways and perhaps even start a vegetable garden?

If parents then start eating more healthily, then perhaps the incidence of diabetes will diminish. Who knows, perhaps the Government wouldn’t need that extra hospital in South Auckland. Or is that just wishful thinking?

Glen Stanton, Mairangi Bay.

Warning for Willis

I say to Nicola Willis and National, keep out of this grocery war because I believe Foodstuffs and Woolworths look after us very well (Mar 30).

I have been in the grocery trade for a very long time and when (yes, when) you do your sharp, smart shopping, you are always on top of your savings (yes, always).

Shop 100% of the time where you think you get your best price. Shop smart as I do.

Gary Stewart, Foxton Beach.

Blame the car

I love all the theories on why Liam Lawson was dropped and not one of the so-called experts is prepared to lay the blame squarely on the Red Bull car (Mar 30). The other cars just drove straight past him. Why don’t they come clean and say that the Red Bull car is a dog and stop blaming Liam?

Jock Mac Vicar, Hauraki.