New universal system not a positive for all
It has come to our attention that many households on the outskirts of Dunedin are going to be considerably disadvantaged by the new rubbish and recycling system.
Since the instigation of recycling in Dunedin (the blue bins) the number of lifestyle blocks and people living in semi-rural areas has greatly increased. Many of these people are paying members of the council recycling scheme but do not have a collection at their gate.
For example, residents of Double Hill Rd near Waitati (approximately 20 houses) must take their blue bin, their rubbish bags, and their yellow wheelie bin down to the start of Double Hill Rd beside State Highway 1 on rubbish day as the trucks do not go up their road. This is a considerable inconvenience. Now with the new three-wheelie bin system starting in July, they will be expected to take the new green bin with food waste and the red rubbish bin down to the main road as well. This would be much more difficult and messier. There is also the problem of large numbers of bins beside the road on rubbish day potentially creating a traffic hazard.
It appears that neither the DCC nor the new contractor have considered the difficulties faced by these rural customers. We believe the collection routes need to be extended to include these properties. We also think that the use of plastic rubbish bags should also be an option for some selected properties where a “to the gate service” is not possible.
We are aware the council has planned for this new system to be universal but we believe some exceptions need to be considered. We hope a positive solution can be found to this dilemma. We do not want to return to the bad old days when people burned or buried their inorganic rubbish.
Mark Brown and Geraldine Tait
Waikouaiti Coast Community Board members
[Chris Henderson, Dunedin City Council waste and environmental solutions general manager, replies: "The DCC continues to look at opportunities to expand the kerbside collection zones where it is economic to do so, but unfortunately many rural roads are not suitable for use by collection trucks. In these cases, we identify a suitable and safe area for bin collections so that we can still provide a recycling and waste collection service to rural residents.
We are also working to keep the cost of the new kerbside service as low as possible by offering a uniform selection of bins and ending the use of single-use plastic rubbish bags. This will reduce the amount of plastic disposed of to landfill and help protect our collection team from sharp objects that can cause injury. Introducing a bespoke service would also cost significantly more."]
Not so obvious at all
The opinion piece by Keegan Wells, president of the Otago University Students’ Association (Opinion ODT 2.5.24) says it all.
Keegan, who arrived in Otago six years ago from California, says with respect to the new logo: “this change seems so obvious". Well she would wouldn’t she? Having only been at this venerable institution for six years she would have absolutely no idea of its 155-year history .
Whilst I understand the desire for the university to “evolve to becoming more Te Tiriti led" the fact remains that this university was founded in 1869 by Thomas Burns subsequent to a decree by the Otago Provincial Council.
Given her views, it would be interesting to know if Ms Wells is aware of any similar logo changes for the prestigious universities of the US: the likes of Stanford, Harvard and Princeton?
John Milburn
Wanaka
Differing viewpoints on urban landscape
Dunedin city councillor Steve Walker and central city plan project director Glen Hazelton should be careful what they wish for with their dream for the full pedestrianisation of Dunedin’s iconic George St.
One only needs to contemplate all the sadly vacant shops along this street (and to also understand that there are many small businesses in this precinct who are struggling to pay their rents), to underscore the effect that limiting vehicular access has; the past three years have given us valuable insight in this regard.
The relentless advocacy for people to adopt public transport and "active transport" remains as delusionary as ever in the face of normal, healthy human psychology. Anyone running a business in George St that relies on patronage from the elderly or those with mobility impediments would be best advised to relocate in the face of this entrenched ideological notion that a CBD should be a playground for those who are young, fit and able, who earn high salaries and who have plenty of time on their hands.
Like it or not, there are many in our community for whom door-to-door ease of access is their only realistic option; it is so sad that these people will inevitably be disenfranchised.
Dunedin’s CBD is set to lose much of its unique flavour and become a clone of every other formulaic pedestrian mall in the country.
Jack Crawford
Macandrew Bay
On the other hand
How good central Dunedin looks. I’m here on a visit from Wellington and it looks well ahead of our capital. The cycleways are terrific to ride, and once the bike is parked in the centre of town, you can walk freely without encumbrance of traffic. How good it looks and how easy to walk around and experience a central city.
Richard Langston
Wellington
Count all the carbon in the uni’s footprint
To have the University of Otago setting up "sustainable neighbourhoods" is a great initiative, but very much undermined by the fact that so many of the residents in them are international students.
I am all into sustainable transport, composting, recycling and worm farming myself, but am well aware that doing all that good stuff to reduce one's carbon footprint and live more sustainably is completely undone by taking international flights.
The university is currently planning to significantly increase its international student intake in order to get itself out of the financial mess caused in part by the Covid border closures. Yet in questioning the university's Carbon Zero 2030 co-ordinator about the significant carbon footprint on current and future predicted international student flights I was told it was too hard to quantify, which is a bit of cop-out if you ask me.
For the university to exclude the carbon footprint of their growing number or international students' flights when calculating the organisation's overall footprint is creative carbon accounting.
Duncan Davidson
Dunedin
Sign language
I have been disgusted to see sign language parodied on television ads for Four Square and Pak'nSave. Surely this is not acceptable to viewers who use sign language as a means of communication.
Kaye Martin
Dunedin
Speed limits
I would reduce my speed to 30kmh or even lower, whatever the posted limit is, when children are outside a school. What I object to is the posting of 30kmh limits without time limits. This is no more than a revenue gathering. This means that a motorist travelling at 45kmh in such an area would be prosecuted at 9pm!
Dave Charters
Waitati
Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@odt.co.nz
