Early last year Auckland Council embarked on a programme of removing 30% of the public rubbish bins around the city. Labouring under the impression that the population would respond by suddenly becoming more responsible in their litter habits, the Council went ahead and removed five of the fourteen bins on Great North Road, Grey Lynn. Whilst probably making some small savings in the labour cost of emptying the bins, this programme has come at a cost to the cleanliness of this area.
Since commencement of the GNR reconstruction the number of bins went down to just three between Bond Street and Ponsonby Road, and the place is a mess. There is an urgent need for more bins to service this area that includes the litter hot spots of McDonalds, Bunnings, a takeaway bar, a liquor store and a dairy, and also serves as the pedestrian route for litter-prone people between Eden Park and the city centre and the late-night route between K Road and the hostels and halfway houses of western Grey Lynn.
What happens to the litter that doesn’t go in the missing bins? The paper items sit there and slowly decompose in an unsightly fashion, and the plastic items get washed down the drains and out to sea each time we have a rainstorm. Glass bottles get kicked around until they eventually break. These visually unpleasant and environmentally irresponsible outcomes of the programme were either unanticipated by the Council or conveniently not mentioned in their news release.
The big question now is how many bins do Council intend to install in the new-look GNR? The number went down from 14 to 9 in their ‘optimisation programme’, but if the new tree-lined GNR is to remain looking attractive the number should return to 14. Fewer bins may save a few dollars but results in more litter on the street and flowing down the drains. Hopes of the ‘great unwashed’ changing their ways to adapt to fewer bins is misplaced optimism. In Tokyo, yes. In Auckland, no.
Tony Waring, Grey Lynn
FROM THE EDITOR
I just walked the GNR strip from GL Library to Newton Road and found 3 bins on the south side and 2 on the north. Bunnings needs to take care of all the litter along King Street - the greenery on that side of their store. It's also often filthy down at Keppell Street on the Potatau corner. Take your rubbish home people! FYI: there are 2 bins on the corner of GNR and Williamson Avenue and 2 opposite.
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