Jack Karetai-Barrett

THE Whakatāne Sunday Market is a free, weekly community event. It’s a great place to be, and it has a lively, happy, positive, and friendly atmosphere.

Once a month, I volunteer at the Waste Zero stall at the Sunday Market, working towards my Duke of Edinburgh gold award service hours.

At Waste Zero, we take in items that are hard to recycle, and we teach people how to manage their waste.

Through this, I’ve been able to reach out to the community and appreciate the steps towards sustainability that are in motion.

I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of the solution.

I don’t just go to the market for Waste Zero though; I’m often fundraising for school trips or mountain biking competitions. I have had stalls at the Sunday Market for sausage sizzles, raffles, baking, plant sales, and anything else that we can think of to raise money.

On a Sunday morning, I also work across the street at Café Coco; as people are finished browsing at the market, they come in to the local cafés for brunch and lunch, so that way even the local businesses are supported by the existence of the market.

When I’m doing my shift at the Waste Zero or on a market stall for fundraising, I find it rather annoying that there aren’t any toilets at the market, and the closest one is essentially an unofficial homeless shelter; it stinks, it’s never clean, and it’s a bit of a hike if you’re in need of a bathroom.

This is especially unfair on our older, younger, or disabled community members.

Many people coming to the market expect to be near toilet facilities; as this is a community event that happens every single week.

Setting up toilets would go a long way in making the market a better place to be.

It would make every attendee feel comfortable and enjoy all that is in store from the market without any inconvenience.

The park could also be used for other fun events if we had some facilities. I think it would be good to have more events there.

I’m also glad that Whakatāne District Council is going to address the swimming pool that appears every time it rains – one of the best things about the market is being able to sit in the sun, on the grass and listen to the music.