Ruapehu to start rubbish petition

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 556, 4 October 1994, Page 5

Ruapehu to start rubbish petition

Ruapehu councillors agreed last Friday to start a petition calling for manufacturers to become more accountable for the disposal of waste products. According to the motion

put to the council, the petition is to be circulated among all local authorities in New Zealand. The idea was put to the council by the council' s Recycling and Waste Re-

duction Working Party chairman Weston Kirton and member Irene Dempsey. The petition, once circulated, would be presented to the Minister of the Environment.

"This petition will highlight the lack of accountability from manufacturers to dispose of waste packaging," said Mr Kirton in presenting the notice of motion. "It is unfair for the

disposal costs to be borne by ratepayers when in fact the waste is being generated irresponsibly by some manufacturers." He said they had hoped the Local Government As-

sociation would take up the cause but this had not happened as yet. "This is the first step on the ladder to getting something done," said Mrs Dempsey. While there was little opposition to the intent of the motion, council chief executive Cliff Houston expressed exasperation once it was passed, claiming the staff who would handle the work on the pe-

tition were already overloaded. He cited the unforseen problem with the National Park dump. "The objective (of the motion) is commendable, but the method is quite re-source-consuming," he said. "What I'd like to know is who is going to do it." Mr Kirton said the working party could plan a budget, strategy and document to explain the aims of the petition.