Survey provides snapshot of recycling centre use
Published on 10 October 2024
A survey carried out by Whanganui District Council last month shows that the Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre on Maria Place is a crucial facility for many in the community and there’s a high level of satisfaction with it.
The centre, which has been managed by the council since July, offers recycling facilities, green waste drop-offs and a range of waste minimisation initiatives.
The council’s waste services manager, Morgan Harrison, says the survey was a good opportunity to find out how the community are using the centre, how well the centre is meeting people’s needs and how the centre could be improved in the future.
“The results were pretty encouraging. Of the 450 community members who participated in the survey, more than 95 per cent said they were either very satisfied or satisfied with the centre – with less than one per cent reporting that they were unsatisfied.”
Morgan Harrison says the survey was also a chance to gauge how the introduction of kerbside recycling had affected use of the centre.
“Interestingly, the data we gathered suggests 75 per cent of current users are urban residents who actively participate in the kerbside recycling service. Many said they were still using the centre for things like soft plastics recycling, household batteries, green waste and e-waste.
“Fifteen per cent of respondents were rural residents living outside of the kerbside recycling zone, for whom the centre was a crucial drop-off point for standard recyclable items. Only 10 per cent of respondents were urban residents who chose not to participate in the kerbside recycling service.”
Morgan Harrison says the survey also asked residents if there were any services, facilities or initiatives they would like to see added to the centre in the future. The community wish list included:
- tyre recycling
- polystyrene recycling
- plasticised food and beverage carton recycling (such as soy milk cartons)
- a recovered goods hub/shop
- more handwashing facilities
- improved lighting and signage.
Morgan Harrison says the good news is several of those things have now been introduced.
“Tyre recycling is now in place through the Tyrewise scheme – and recycling for both plasticised food and beverage cartons (like soy milk cartons) and polystyrene have just been introduced.
“The team is also in the process of giving the site a bit of a spruce up, including improvements to signage.”
For more information about the Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre, visit whanganui.govt.nz/wrrc