Wānaka and Queenstown’s transfer stations will close on Sundays from this weekend through to January 8, Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) says.  

The Wānaka facility is normally open seven days a week and the decision to temporarily reduce operating hours is due to contractor Waste Management NZ’s ongoing challenges finding staff, QLDC infrastructure operations manager Simon Mason said. 

“We’re working hard to maintain normal levels of service for the community while grappling with the same resourcing challenges as many other local businesses,” he said.

“As we’ve said before, this will not be resolved overnight and our key focus is on balancing the need to maintain staff wellbeing and operational safety while continuing our kerbside collection service and fulfilling our waste minimisation commitments.”

QLDC media and channels advisor Sam White confirmed that kerbside rubbish and recycling collected in Wānaka - and around the district - would continue to be sorted and recycled at the Frankton Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).

Earlier this month the council had to pause recycling at the facility for a two-day period because of the staff shortages, which meant mixed recycling in Queenstown was briefly sent to landfill.

Simon said the temporary reduction in operating hours at the transfer stations will keep the MRF open.

It’s more important than ever for residents to keep up good recycling habits: “Helping to reduce contamination in our recycling streams significantly helps the MRF team who hand-sort our district’s mixed recycling,” Simon said.

Clean mixed recycling should go in the yellow bin, glass in the blue bin, and rubbish in the red bin. Find more information on kerbside collection here.

Neither Wastebusters nor Wānaka Greenwaste and Landscaping Supplies - both of which are open on Sundays - are affected by the closures.

The Frankton and Wānaka transfer stations will remain open 8am-5pm six days a week from Monday to Saturday and they will reopen on Sundays from January 8.

PHOTO: Wānaka App