“Kāpiti Coast District Council must stop burying its head and rubbish in the sand and start addressing the region’s longer term waste issues,” says Kāpiti Coast Mayoral candidate Murray Lobb.
“The Council claims it is committed to reducing transport emissions in the region, however it outsourced waste collection to three contractors who chase each other around the district daily collecting household rubbish. This is hugely inefficient from a cost perspective and has an unacceptable carbon footprint.”
Mr Lobb says the collected waste is then transported via truck out of the region. Currently it is transported to a landfill near Turakina, 116 kilometre away, or to Porirua.
“It is totally unacceptable to be exporting our waste to another region, paying them to take it, and creating significant transport emissions by these long drives.
“Neither of these places our rubbish is transported to will provide a friendly deal to Kāpiti and why should they?”
Mr Lobb says the Council’s out of sight, out of mind approach must stop.
“The Council needs to take this core service back in house and needs to start investigating modern methods for waste disposal.
“We need to do better than this and if elected, I will bring my common-sense problem-solving skills and focus to council to find some longer-term solutions,” says Mr Lobb.
Murray Lobb is standing as a candidate for Mayor and for a Paraparaumu Ward council seat.
