A rural kerbside collection of recyclable items has begun in the Waihemo area.
Country areas were included as well as town streets, Waihemo Wastebusters secretary Laura Morrison said.
The rural service not only collects bottles, but all recyclables and includes Dunback, Goodwood, Shag Point and the roads to Palmerston. A monthly pick-up is being arranged from Macraes. Only 55 of the more than 400 households in Palmerston bought recycling bags or rented recycling wheelie bins;
Waihemo Wastebusters needed more support to survive, Ms Morrison said. In February, it got $15,000 from the Keep New Zealand beautiful community grants programme for a six-month bottle collection, which runs until September.
Waihemo Wastebusters began in Palmerston in June 2008, initially using a trailer to collect prepaid bags. Volunteers took the bags to the Waitaki Resource recovery park in Oamaru at their own cost. A kerbside collection of recyclables was later begun in the town.
Part-time staff have been funded through Taskforce Green. The Waitaki District Council later began reimbursing Waihemo Wastebusters for the cost of transporting material to Oamaru. In August 2011, a donation of $20,000 enabled staff to be better paid, equipment was bought and education programmes were begun in schools.
Waihemo Wastebusters would make a submission to the Waitaki District draft annual plan for better financial support, otherwise the organisation would close towards the end of the year, Ms Morrison said.
