E-bikes start Queenstown rubbish and recycling collections
Two electric bikes will collect rubbish and recycling from public litter bins in the Queenstown and Wanaka town centres.
The e-bike collections are a New Zealand first and just one of a number of environmentally friendly solutions to ensure a smarter waste service for the district, Queenstown Lakes District mayor Jim Boult says.
“The e-bikes will hit the streets this week (November 4) in Queenstown and in a couple of weeks’ time in Wanaka, removing the need for large trucks circulating the town centre streets to empty the public bins,” he says.
“Not only does this play a part in reducing congestion in the town centres, it also lowers carbon emissions and is cheaper to operate.”
As part of the new initiative, the e-bike drivers will also be providing community education on how to appropriately dispose of waste in the public litter bins.
Parks staff are already on their e-bikes.
The rubbish and recycling collection fleet already includes one electric truck and two three-way split-body trucks allowing for one vehicle to complete a full collection of both rubbish and recycling while keeping the materials separate.
The e-bike collections run during summer.
E-bikes are already being used by the Queensland Lakes District Council parks and reserves teams in Wanaka and Queenstown working between the many council reserves and gardens.
The council also brokered a bike incentive scheme with Torpedo7 for council staff looking to commute in a more active way.
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