rd th Mar 2017 21thstJan Mar -- 327 27 Feb 2014
FIRST ON THE STREET
No No 434 592
LAKES WEEKLY BULLETIN
9 J 5 O IN SI BS D E
www.lwb.co.nz • buy • accommodation • sell • information • jobs • enquiries@lwb.co.nz
In December last year, an impromptu ‘Crate Day’ party on the Village Green seemed to spell the end of drinking in public in Queenstown. The press and social media were abuzz with talk that a ‘nanny state’ approach, banning public alcohol consumption, could be the solution. But it wasn’t drinking which caused the problem, it was the litter left behind. Discarded plastic straws, takeaway food cartons and coke bottles are an issue as much as beer bottles. The contents are irrelevant. Community beach cleans have found bottle caps, cigarette butts, plastic straws and bagfuls of other human detritus on the lake front and in the lake. The problem is that some people are too damn lazy to put their litter in the appropriate place. Walking past the Village Green late on Friday evening, I watched two people attempting to put litter into the overflowing bins. One sensibly carried his rubbish away with him, the other lazily tossed his glass bottle in the general direction of the bin, leaving smashed glass all over the pavement. At the Gibbston Wine and Food Festival, there were bright yellow and red bins every few meters for recyclable and landfill items. Though the gardens were not immaculate at the end of the festival, they certainly didn’t look like a few hundred people had consumed large quantities of amazing local food and beverages. Making recycling and using bins very easy and convenient was a sensible initiative by the festival organisers which clearly had a positive impact. The council have brought in flash new bins which crush litter to ensure they don’t fill up as fast. There’s also an increasing number of bins in convenient places around Queenstown. To me, arguing that there’s not enough bins in Queenstown translates to ‘I’m too lazy to walk more than ten meters to clean up after myself’. It’s not the council’s job to follow you around with a rubbish bag. As I witnessed on St. Patrick’s Day last Friday and at the Gibbston Wine and Food Festival on Sunday, the issue is laziness and we need to question how much money we spend encouraging lazy people to dispose of their rubbish correctly. During festivals and events, when there are more people consuming food and drink in public spaces, it’s worth putting a few extra bins here and there. But the rest of the time? We just need to get better at cleaning up after ourselves. To dispose of cigarette butts, bottle caps and takeaway food receptacles in a thoughtful manner. It would be a huge shame to ban people from enjoying a drink or two by the lake – but if a proportion of people continue to act like dirty, lazy children, perhaps we do need a nanny. Bethany G. Rogers Geordie Off-Shore
STEAKHOUSE &BAR
LATINO PARTY SATURDAY
DJ AND3S FROM 10PM
AL RENT IES RT ROPE
P or cover f e back perties id s in e Se pro list of our full to rent.
!
HERE TUES
LOOK T NE A ONLI .co.nz ac q . w ww WED
THUR
Cloudy Periods, Fine Spells. Chance Fine Spells with Late Shower Light Winds Chance Shower
JOHN RAVENS WEATHER Last week John was 100% correct
FRI
SAT
SUN
MON
Scattered Rain. Light Winds
Showers. Not Much Wind
Partly Cloudy with Little Wind
Cloudy with Little Wind