Letters: Why no kerbside recycling?

Letters to the Editor.

Rubbish collection
I share Rob Rattenbury's concern that both commercial rubbish collectors have signalled the end of plastic bag pickups for Whanganui residents, and his call on the District Council to take responsibility for this essential service.

Many of us have have shared Rob's "conversion" to diligent recycling using the excellent Maria St Extension Resource Recovery Centre, an iwi-council joint venture. Because we're fortunate to be able to drive there with our loads of recycling, we've greatly reduced our contributions to costly and environmentally unfriendly landfill disposal and now use bag collections very infrequently.

We understand the use of large plastic "all in" wheelie bins is a lazy solution that is bad for the environment and bad for our budgets.

On Vintage Weekend Sunday I enjoyed a chat with a Hamilton visitor here with a classic car. A retired superannuitant, she was fired up by Mayor Hamish's welcome and almost won over by his enthusiasm to welcome new residents to the district.

She "grilled" me for some time about everything from whether we're pestered by mosquitoes to rates and rubbish.

Everything was going swimmingly, and she was ready to return home and serously consider moving to this place she'd been so impressed with. Then the issue of kerbside rubbish and recycling collection reared its ugly head.

She really couldn't believe the unique idiocy of successive Whanganui councils that have been so desperate to boast low rates rises they've a ommitted a key service that's simplya given in other centres large and small. Apparently Mayor Hamish had overlooked to mention that drawback in his spruiking of an otherwise great district in which to live and work.

With the major Long-term Plan budgeting process for the next 10 years under way at Guyton St HQ right now, it's timely to remind councillors that some things are more important than saving a small percentage on the inevitable rates increase in hopes of more favourable treatment at the ballot box next year.

Our elected repesentatives know as well as we do that flexible kerbside collection is an essential service, especially for our aeging, low-income and necessarily frugal population, and that it's time to get their collective act together.

Until that happens, the friendly staff at the Resource Recovery Centre will welcome your plastic bags of non-recyclable rubbish for $3.50 per bag.
CAROL WEBB
Whanganui

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Bee poop
The article on "Bee Poop" affecting urban residences (Wanganui Chronicle 16 January, 2018) makes light of the dark side of man's favourite insect.

Since 2015 when the Whanganui District Council's bylaw legalised bee keeping within the City, there has been considerable growth in both hobby and commercial bee hive numbers and a subsequent increase in residents' properties affected by bee excrement.

Over the past few months my neighbourhood became one such new target with the waxy yellow deposits peppering home windows and walls, drying laundry and vehicles. The deposits stick fast and are very difficult to remove.

Our aerial bombardment followed a commercial bee keeper placing 5 large hives nearby. With 50,000 to 80,000 bees per hive, they could be making in excess of one million flights per day potentially dropping their load soon after each departure.

The neighbours became distressed and perplexed by the ongoing deposits, having no idea what this stuff was or where it came from.

However, having spent 20 years bee keeping earlier in my life I knew all about it and when the neighbours found out they became very angry. There was certainly no hint of amusement.

Bee poop may sound funny, but it is anything but that when it affects ones own property.

And the chance of bee excrement affecting your property is increasing all the time, especially with the mushrooming number of rural and manuka bee keepers placing hundreds of hives near, and even within, the city during the winter where management is easier. In this instance, starving and lethargic bees can present additional nuisance to residents and last year the Rogers Street Kindergarten was also affected.

In our case, I tracked down an enthusiastic young bee keeper. He inspected our neighbourhood and was somewhat distressed when he realised what his little helpers had been up to.

He agreed to remove 3 of the 5 hives. Council officers thought that was an acceptable approach. But the neighbourhood did not, after all, a 60 per cent reduction of an extreme nuisance is still a considerable nuisance, and Section 13.2 in the council's 2015 Bylaw on Animals, Poultry and Bees, states that "…there shall be no nuisance caused by bee keeping…"

Fortunately we did not need to react further as these particular hives were on a rented property and when the owner was informed and shown their impact he directed all the hives be removed.

Bee nuisance is a growing problem and it seems that the council needs better advice and tools to deal with existing problems and to avoid future conflicts.
ROGER SHAND
Castlecliff

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Sublime exhibition
Sublime was the best adjective that sprang to mind on viewing the Wendy Fairclough cast glass exhibition at the Sarjeant Gallery.

Glass bottles have been caressed and enjoyed by millions over the centuries.

Their usefulness cannot be denied, but Wendy takes glass into another realm. It is no longer utilitarian. The mundane has been transformed.

Superbly lit, each vignette has its own often poignant story to relate. A "non art lover" could surely not be moved by the purity and sheer beauty of colours shapes and textures.
I urge other citizens of Whanganui to come and experience these works created by the talented artist who grew up here.

Thank you, Sarjeant Gallery and Greg Dobson, for making this possible.
ROSEMARY BARAGWANATH
Whanganui