The Great Timaru District Bin Muster has passed a major milestone with more than 90% tagged, bringing the main part of the project to a close.

The main part of the project, to take stock of the more than 63,000 bins in the district and fit them all with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag, has now been completed.

The high level of tagging means that the team can now use the data provided by the trucks to help the wash-up process, where they will follow up and tag any bins that were missed.

People can tell if their bin is tagged as there will be a yellow sticker on the side. If the sticker has fallen off, the tag is visible under the lip of the bin on the left hand side when you are facing the front of the bin. The tag is a small black or white puck-shaped device.

Waste Minimisation Manager, Ruth Clarke said that she was really pleased the community had done their bit to help us tag such a high percentage of bins on the first round.

“The project team were expecting to have 80-85% of bins tagged by this point, so to have more than 90% of them done is a great credit to the community.

“The trucks now have the hardware to scan the bins and we can use this information to follow up any untagged bins.

“This last stage is likely to take several months, so if your bin hasn’t been tagged yet and you have particular concerns about bin accessibility, entry to property or are going away over the next several months please contact us on 03 687 7200.

“This has been a huge project, but it will now enable us to have a real time view of all our bin stocks, ensure there is easier tracking of lost or stolen bins and better identification of bins being misused.

“Further down the line it also removes the need for another large scale stocktake of all the bins, as we will know where the majority of them are at any given time.

“I’d like to take the opportunity to thank the community for doing their bit to make this project a success.”

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