Media release from Lyndy McIntyre,
Candidate for Paekakariki/Raumati Ward in 2007 KCDC elections

16 July 2007

Candidate Challenges KCDC To Match Waitakere on Plastic Bag Campaign

“Waitakere City’s council should be congratulated for supplying West Aucklanders with cloth shopping bags in a bid to rid the city of plastic bags, and Kapiti should follow their example” said Lyndy McIntyre, council candidate for the Paekakariki/ Raumati ward today.

The Waitakere City Council will distribute 5,000 bags by September and bags to all its 56,000 households within two years. Council is working with local business to get support for a “Bring Back Your Bag” campaign.

Lyndy McIntyre said Kapiti Coast District Council should match Waitakere's actions and indulge in some friendly rivalry by seeking to better their two-year goal.

“Let’s show we mean to seriously reduce our waste by ensuring every Kapiti household has a cloth shopping bag before West Aucklanders,” she said.

Lyndy McIntyre said although Kapiti was dubbed the “Nature Coast” we have an abysmal record of inaction in waste management

“While other communities have addressed waste management we have crammed our landfill to nearly overflowing before introducing kerb side recycling,” she said. “We must make up for lost time by dramatically accelerating our efforts.”

Lyndy McIntyre said the introduction of kerbside recycling later this year was many years overdue when neighbouring communities like Porirua and Palmerston North had introduced it in 1995 and 2002 respectively.

“The plastic piling up in our landfill will take hundreds of years to break down and emits climate changing gasses into the atmosphere in the process,” she said. “Plastic litters our streets and streams and chokes our marine life.”

“The little town of Collingwood showed it’s possible to move towards plastic bag free communities. Ireland has reduced plastic bag use by 90%. Now Waitakere is taking on the challenge. It’s time our council took leadership on plastic bags in a creative way that suits local people and local business.”

Lyndy McIntyre said she would contact Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey for pointers on how to move away from plastic bags and gain business and community support.

ENDS

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