News in Brief

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Kaipara recycling headed for the bin
Communities across Kaipara will soon be able to give their opinion on the state of the districts recycling process with Kaipara District Council [KDC] elected members and officials available for public discussion from the beginning of March at a number of locations. In particular consultation will be around council providing recycling crates, one for glass and one for plastic and cans with paper bundled separately, for either kerbside collection or from dedicated areas for rural residents.

The crates are part of KDC’s Long Term Plan 2021-2031, to change Kaipara’s poor track record for recycling. In a 2020 ‘snapshot audit’, of rubbish bags, 860kgs of 3196kg were found to be recyclable items - 27% of the rubbish sent to landfill.

In a 2019 KDC survey on recycling, council found Kaipara communities were passionate about their environment and wanted an easier system such as bins instead of the current yellow bags. Wheelie bins were also suggested however feedback form other councils found that they increase the amount of waste heading to landfill as well as being expensive for residents who do not produce a lot of rubbish.

Community consultation will run from March 1 April 1, with drop-in locations at Mangawhai Tavern Market, Te Kopuru, Paparoa Market and the Dargaville Twilight market. Online meetings will also be offered with dates and times to be published shortly.

Lines re-drawn for Wood Street
Following a public survey on the Wood Street Revitalisation Project, changes have already been made to rectify the controversial parts of the design.

Parking spaces on the Molesworth Drive entrance have been removed while angle parking on the side of FourSquare is now installed with one space allocated for a mobility park. Parallel parks along Wood St’s central area will also be adjusting.

A full review and public survey of the projects design is also scheduled for late February, including an evaluation of the changes and a look at some of the activities planned for the shared space areas such as a twilight market, buskers, and street games. Initiated by the Mangawhai Business Association, the community-led project is iterative by design, meaning it can be tweaked and changed over a two year period and is 90 percent funded by Waka Kotahi NZTA, as part of their Innovating Streets programme.

Any further comments or feedback about other aspects of the interim design can be made via mangawhaicommunityplan@kaipara.govt.nz.

 

Dome Valley dump update
In the ongoing fight for the health and waste-free future of Dome Valley, members of ‘Fight the Tip, Save the Dome’ attended hearings on

January 27 and 28, where pro-tip company, Waste Management gave their rebuttal statements and legal summing up to a selected commissioner panel.

Dedicated ‘Save the Dome’ member Sue Crockett, attended most of hearings, which began at the end of last year with public submissions presented to five independent commissioners.

“I went to five out of six just weeks before Christmas and another two last week… at times my brain was completely overloaded,” she says. “I have to say that the whole long experience has been very interesting as well as frustrating, emotional and exhausting. However, we are fortunate that we live in a country where we can have a say, however controversial.”

Crockett says after hearing all the opposition it seems Waste Management have actually modified their original application, ‘but modifications are not what we are looking for’.

“Now we await a decision from the panel of commissioners which could be some weeks yet. I don’t have any real idea what the decision will be but I certainly appreciate the attention and indepth questioning by the commissioners throughout this long process… this is not over yet.”

More details will be available on the recent hearing soon, to keep up to date visit and join www.facebook.com/FightWMSavetheDome

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