Councils to push pause on some kerbside recycling collections

Hastings District Council and Napier City Council’s kerbside recycling will only be for paper and cardboard from Monday, March 14 until further notice.

The other material (plastics, cans and glass) will go on hold from Monday, March 14 until further notice.

Unfortunately, the situation is constantly and rapidly changing, and a number of the Councils’ contractor’s team, Smart Environmental, are unable to work due to COVID-19 and have reduced capacity. This includes transport and sorting staff across New Zealand.

With fewer drivers available, the focus has been on finding a solution that maintains some level of kerbside collection where possible, said Hastings District Council group manager asset management Craig Thew.

“We can continue taking paper and cardboard because it requires less sorting on collection and goes straight to HAWK Packaging, who need this supply to produce fruit trays for our region.

“Both plastics and cans, and glass collections are more time consuming and require transport to other regions,” he said.

From next week, council recycling crates containing paper and cardboard in both Hastings and Napier will continue to be collected kerbside.

Napier City Council acting director infrastructure Debra Stewart said both councils will continually monitor the situation to ensure full recycling collections can be reinstated as soon as staffing levels allow.

Until full collection services can resume, plastics, cans and glass can either be stored or taken to any one of Hastings’ or Napier’s recycling stations.

Visit the councils’ websites for more information – Hastings: https://www.hastingsdc.govt.nz/services/rubbish-and-recycling/transfer-stations/, Napier: https://www.napier.govt.nz/services/rubbish-and-recycling/transfer-station/

The councils ask that residents keep crates out all day as services may be running slightly slower than usual. Remember to have them kerbside by 7am on your collection day.

“We hope that things will return to normal within a few weeks and thank residents for their understanding and patience during this trying time,” Ms Stewart said.

For answers to questions on the councils’ rubbish and recycling services and how they may be impacted by COVID-19 please check the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the Hastings website at https://www.hastingsdc.govt.nz/recycling, or Napier website at Recycling | Napier City Council.

Residents are also advised that updates will also be provided on the councils’ social media pages.

Kerbside rubbish collections for both Hastings and Napier Council are unaffected at this time.

10 March 2022

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