Brace yourself for some trashy news, the local dump is gone. The Dunedin Wickliffe Street Transfer Station (the tip near the Uni) has permanently closed. A shame, since it was both conveniently close to the student area and free for all students to use. Green Island is now the closest dump, setting students back around $15 in petrol and $13 in dump fees. What absolute rubbish!
Prior to the closure of the Dunedin Wickliffe Street Transfer Station, Campus Watch provided a trailer for student rubbish if an ID was shown. This was a little known reality, with only one Reddit thread online pointing to the opportunity.
Currently, the University’s approach to student sustainability is championed by policies such as the disposable cup-free campus and plant-based ‘Mindful Mondays’ in the residential halls. The dump gulls that feast on the student excess might have a word or two to say about the effectiveness of these approaches.
Eco-warriors looking to offset their tip contributions have an outlet to feed their heaven-bound souls in the form of Food Waste Week. The week begins on the 18th of March as an aspect of the University's Food Waste Innovation. The week will include food waste artworks displayed in the link by Waikato artist Hannah Savage. Her multi-media works look to address the “social and economic implications of food going to landfills.”
Coinciding with the University’s Food Waste Week is the introduction of Foodprint to Dunedin, a food rescue app that allows you to buy discounted food that would otherwise end up in a landfill. That is, if you could be arsed to take it there.