New rubbish service comes at a price

Council says most residents will save money but one local company says it will have to lay off staff

Alocal waste collection company says it will have to lay off about two dozen workers and dump up to 9000 wheelie bins into landfill because of a new council kerbside service.

Tauranga rates will also go up a median 7 per cent next year to pay for the new council-run kerbside rubbish and recycling collection service.

But Tauranga City Council says most people will save money, overall, and the service is cheaper than what many are paying for private collections they will no longer need.

The council announced yesterday it had signed an eight-plus two-year contract with foreign-owned Envirowaste to provide the service from July 1 next year. Each city household will be issued with three new bins in addition to their existing 45L glass crate: a 140l rubbish bin, 240l recycling bin and 23l food scraps bin.

Rubbish, recycling and glass will be collected fortnightly and food scraps weekly, with a goal of halving the amount of household waste sent to landfill by 2028. Additional bin sizes will be available after the first year and there is an optional monthly garden waste bin at a cost of $60 in the first year. The core service will initially cost each household $230 a year, which includes the $37 already charged through rates for glass collection. The council’s market research found the average household using a private collection was spending $515 a year.

Council infrastructure general manager Nic Johansson said the council was introducing bin size options in the second year to simplify the initial roll-out. Smaller bins would cost less, providing an incentive for people to reduce their waste. The council was also future-proofing the system for potential future pay-byweight charging system, with RFID

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Photos / File Glass collection: Weekly food scraps and fortnightly rubbish and recycling collections will be added to existing glass recycling collections. INSET: John Cruickshank of Kleana Bins believes 60 per cent of his staff will have to go due to Tauranga City Council’s new waste plan.