Our Mission

At The WOW Factor™ War on Waste, we are committed to eliminating the unnecessary clutter of traffic cones on our streets. Our mission is to promote foresightful practices and community engagement to tackle the issue of cone madness head-on.

It’s like Hamilton’s been possessed by a cone-crazed gremlin who’s decided, “More cones, more problems? Nah, mate, MORE CONES!” This is sheer madness, and it’s costing us a fortune. As your Mayor, I’m Rudi du Plooy, and I’m here to declare a War on Waste—cone edition. The Cone-pocalypse: A Hamilton Horror Story. New Zealand’s lost its marbles, and Hamilton’s leading the charge. Every roadwork, from a cracked kerb to a full-blown bridge rebuild, comes with a forest of cones. Need to sweep a gutter? Cones. Fix a streetlight? Cones. Someone sneezed on the asphalt? You bet—CONES! X users are fed up, with @Daisythecow7424 moaning about “double lines of cones” clogging Hamilton’s roads, and @Gykiwi03 calling it a “joke” that’s numbing drivers to their actual safety. One genius—probably scribbling from a padded room—decided cones are the answer to everything. Spoiler: they’re not. Here’s the kicker: these cones aren’t free. Industry whispers peg cone hire at $1.40–$2.00 per cone per day. Let’s thumb-suck a figure for Hamilton. Say we’ve got 1,000 cones out daily (a conservative guess for a city our size), hired at $1.50 each. That’s $1,500 a day, or over $500,000 a year flushed down the cone-shaped drain. And that’s just cones! Add in traffic lights at $1,500 a day and idle crews, and we’re talking millions. A 2024 NZTA review found 26% of roadwork sites had unnecessary traffic management, wasting cash while drivers stew in traffic. Who’s laughing? The cone manufacturers, that’s who—cackling all the way to the bank.

The Impact:

Our Wallets and Sanity. This cone frenzy is bleeding our rates dry and driving us bonkers. Businesses lose customers when roads are blocked, cyclists weave through cone mazes, and drivers age a decade waiting at temporary lights for no apparent reason. @winstonpeters on X nailed it: it’s “bloated, bureaucratic, out-of-touch health and safety laws” gone wild. Meanwhile, unattended cones litter our streets like orange tumbleweeds, mocking us. It’s time to stop this cone-tastrophe and reclaim our city! My Plan: Cone-quer the Madness. As Mayor, I’ll slam the brakes on this cone insanity with a plan that’s smarter than a truckload of orange plastic:

• Risk-Based Cone Command: Adopt NZTA’s 2023 New Zealand Guide to Temporary Traffic Management, using cones only where they’re needed, not as road décor.
   
• Follow the Money: Demand transparent reporting on traffic management costs, like Transport Minister Simeon Brown’s push for NZTA’s $786 million cone spend exposé. No more blank cheques for cone barons!
• Crack Down on Cone Hoarders: Review contracts to stop contractors milking daily hire rates. If they leave cones out longer than needed, they’re fined, not paid.
• Night Ops, Less Cones: Trial night-time roadworks, like SH1 Wellington’s $154,000-saving project, to cut daytime disruption and cone counts.
   
• Cone Whistleblower Hotline: Launch a Hamilton hotline for you to snitch on pointless cone zones. Snap a pic, send it in, and we’ll sort it.
• Beg the Cone Lords: Plead with NZTA and contractors to ease up on the orange obsession, keeping workers safe without bankrupting us.

Why It Matters:

Every cone we don’t need saves rates for potholes, parks, or proper safety initiatives. We’re not anti-safety—workers deserve protection—but we’re done with cone overkill. Hamilton deserves roads that flow, not glow orange. Join my War on Waste, and let’s send these cones packing!