Black plastic Dunedin City Council rubbish bags could be discontinued.
At a Mosgiel-Taieri Community Board meeting in Mosgiel last week, board member Phillipa Bain asked council waste and environmental solutions group manager Chris Henderson if the council was investigating moving away from the use of the black bags.
"Absolutely,'' Mr Henderson said.
Council contractors did not want to work with the bags because of health and safety issues, such as the risk of injury.
"Plastic bags - even if we wanted to keep them - we would probably struggle to find a contractor who would sign a contract.''
The council had proposed a move away from black bags before but it was voted down in a public consultation in 2012, he said.
Mrs Bain said the public's view on the use of plastic bags has changed since 2012 and the news of a possible change was "positive''.
SHAWN.MCAVINUE @thestar.co.nz
Comments
The sooner they are gone the better. They are expensive, bad for the environment, encourage vermin and are a health and safety hazard. Shame on the DCC and public of 2012 agreeing to fill our land fill site up with more plastic. We also need a free green waste collection. This will also help with pest control, illegal tipping and the environment especially if recycled into compost. Have previously lived in Christchurch and their waste collection service is much better.
This might force Cull and the Councillors to finally listen to the people they work for and sort 3 wheelie bins for every house as part of the rates, using councils buying power in bulk at a cheaper price than consumers pay now.
As long as there is a cost effective equivalent, this is a great idea. Many who choose to stay with bags, do so because alternatives are cost prohibitive. Volume is the key. Many don't put one out every week. Recycling and composting can reduce waste volumes significantly and one 45 litre bag a fortnight doesn't cost much at all....