The hurdles to recycling at Palmerston have required considerable work from the two-year-old Waihemo Wastebusters group, which is concerned about the lack of help from the Waitaki District Council.
A recent shift to new premises had been a nightmare, Wastebusters president Dr Pat Shannon said in his report to the recent annual meeting.
The premises had previously been a commercial motor-vehicle repair operation. Council staff had decided the recycling operation needed resource consent beyond that required for the vehicle repair operation.
Many hours were spent preparing documentation to obtain the consent and a request for consideration as an environmentally friendly cost-saving initiative was ignored. The council's direct charges for the resource consent had been $1050, plus another $1000 for other requirements, he said.
Given that elsewhere this [the Waitaki council]and other councils provide real support for waste minimisation and recycling, including major operating subsidies, Waihemo Wastebusters was entitled to feel aggrieved, he said.
However, the council had recently paid for the transport of recycling material from Palmerston to Oamaru in the same way it had previously subsidised the transport of recycled material from the Ahuriri ward to Oamaru.
