Issue date
A mobile summer rubbish barge will be back on the water in the Bay of Islands this summer from Monday, December 28.
The staffed barge – a familiar site in the Bay during the summer holiday season – is a joint venture between the Northland Regional and Far North District Councils, the Department of Conservation and contractors Waste Management.
It offers a service for both local and visiting boaties who are encouraged to use it to help keep the Bay of Islands rubbish-free.
The barge service will begin summer operations on December 28 and will run again om December 31. After then, the weather-dependent service will generally operate on Mondays and Fridays until January 29.
On operational days it will visit Urupukapuka Island campsites from 9am-10am before mooring close to the south-eastern end of Moturoa Island from 10.30am-1pm (hours will reduce as demand drops off toward the end of January).
A flat $7 fee per rubbish bag applies, regardless of whether pre-paid or plain bags are used. Extra-large bags will incur an additional charge.
Recyclables are accepted with the cost, depending on quantity and cleanliness; typically somewhere between $2 and $5 with more for dirty recycling.
Shore-based facilities are available daily from 7am-6pm at Opua (by the fuel jetty Far North Holdings car park) from Boxing Day to January 29 and at Rawhiti (Kaingahoa campground, Kaingahoa Bay, Rawhiti Rd) from December 18 until the end of February. Both sites are on closed Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
To find out more visit www.nrc.govt.nz/rubbishbarge
