Thu 28 Jun 18.
Council appoints waste minimisation educator.
Council has appointed Emily Jasmine as a Waste Minimisation Project Officer with a focus on community education and helping people learn about how they can produce less waste and help protect Ruapehu's beautiful environment.
Waste Minimisation Officer Daniel Allen said the implementation of Council's new Waste Management and Minimisation Plan (WMMP) will mean a change in direction for how every household and business in Ruapehu needs to deal with their solid waste if they want to minimise their waste disposal costs.
With the underlying vision driving the WMMP being all about minimising the amount of waste going to landfill Council recognised the importance of supporting this critical objective with a robust public education programme.
If the WMMP is going be successful we need households and businesses to be prepared to make changes to their behaviour with a much bigger commitment to reducing, reusing, recycling and composting.
Emily has been tasked with extending Council's waste minimisation education programme and help to educate Ruapehu communities including schools and marae on our waste challenges and reducing the amount of waste we are producing and sending to landfill, he said.
Ms Jasmine said that she was really excited about the role and the opportunity to help protect Ruapehu's environment and keep solid waste service affordable for people.
A key focus of the community education role is to give people simple, practical ideas and actions they can take which will make a big difference to how much rubbish they produce, she said.
For many people producing less waste will require a change to their current behaviour however this doesn't need to be difficult or time-consuming with a little organisation and understanding.
An important part of the education programme will be in encouraging people to take part in waste minimisation campaigns such as Plastic Free July that encourages people to avoid using single-use plastic items.
We are asking people to go to the www.plasticfreejuly.org website and sign-up for the single-use plastic challenge where people refuse any single-use plastic such as plastic checkout bags, straws, cups, etc. during July.
Council will also be holding a series of Plastic Free July Workshops where people can learn to reduce their use of single-use plastics.
The Workshops include fun activities such as learning to make beeswax wraps to eliminate the use of cling film and making yogurt with milk powder which helps reduce the use of single use plastic packaging.
Anyone wanting more info on the Plastic Free July Workshops should see Council's website www.ruapehudc.govt.nz or Facebook page or they can call me via their local Council office.
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