Thank goodness for rubbish day!

A new recycling system has begun in Nelson. Everyone received their bins back in August, with a booklet explaining the days of collection, and that this would be beginning in the second half of October.

I must admit to feeling a bit smug when I saw the yellow lids out on the street weeks before the new system started. Didn't people read their booklets?

But this week I've had my rubbish bag rejected, left with a 'wrong day' sticker. Not so well sorted, after all!

This process of trial and error, as everyone gets used to the new system is a great example of the best kind of learning, as an adult. We do something wrong, nothing really bad happens, and we do it better next time.

It must have taken Council staff and the recycling contractors (Nelmac) quite a lot of thinking about all the different ways to communicate the changes with residents, who will not have had their rubbish and recycling collections top of mind in the midst of their busy lives. Information needs to be on the bins, in the attached booklet, on both the Council and Nelmac website, and stickers printed for rubbish bags like mine left out on the wrong day. And those are just the communication avenues I've come across, I'm sure there are more.
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One thing's for certain, it makes us all appreciate the fact that our rubbish and recycling is eventually taken AWAY.