Public litter bin at Westport’s Floating Basin to be removed

The public litter bin at Westport’s yacht club slipway will soon be removed, as it is frequently being misused for the disposal of household and commercial rubbish.

Buller has 48 public litter bins located in urban areas around the district. These bins are for the purpose of disposing of on-the-go litter, such as takeaway food or ice cream wrappers.

Staff often find bags filled with household waste in the litter bin at the yacht club slipway, which have been left there to be collected, instead of being disposed of properly at the Westport Transfer Station or through the council kerbside collection service.

BDC staff have been emptying the bin daily to keep up with the volume of household rubbish being dumped, compared with the rest of the public litter bin network, which is only emptied three times a week.

It is not sustainable for council to keep funding the extra expenses (rubbish bags, dump fees and staff time) that result from the misuse of this litter bin; hence the decision has been made to remove it.

Visitors are encouraged to take their rubbish with them when they go, or alternatively use another public bin on Palmerston Street for their on-the-go litter.

Many councils are removing public litter bins and replacing them with ‘leave no trace’ signage, encouraging visitors to take their waste home with them.

The Floating Basin litter bin will be placed into storage and potentially redeployed to a more suitable location around the district at a later date.

Council will continue to promote the benefits of recycling and reducing overall waste to residents and visitors.

-ENDS-

For further information please contact:
Communication and Engagement Team
Buller District Council
media.enquiries@bdc.govt.nz