Nelsonians wade into rubbish debate

It could be time for Nelson to rethink the way it deals with rubbish, according to online polls.

After Auckland City Council opted to start food waste collections, and introduce wheelie bins in legacy Manukau City Council areas, the question over Nelson’s rubbish collection was put to the polls on Neighbourly.

Nearly 74 per cent of respondents said it was time for Nelson to throw out the bags in favour of wheelie bins. Just over 26 per cent said they preferred rubbish bags.

Nelson City Council rolled out new recycling bins at the end of last year, with 19,500 wheelie bins delivered to residential properties. These bins are used for plastics, cans, paper and cardboard recycling and are collected fortnightly along with separate blue crates used for glass.

When it comes to food waste, organics and general rubbish, however, blue bags adorn the kerbsides of Nelson. It’s a user-pays system where bags are supplied by either Nelmac or Can Plan. Residents can purchase bags from Nelson City Council, supermarkets and dairies, and from Nelmac and Can Plan directly.

Wheelie bins are also available for hire or purchase from both Can Plan or Nelmac, again as a user-pay system.

But according to the Neighbourly poll and accompanying comments, some Nelsonians are keen on a shift to more wheelie bins.

Many said the bags were too messy and often ended up ripped, causing rubbish to be strewn along the footpath.

However, others said bags were easier to carry, and bins were too expensive and too big and heavy to handle.

Kay Williams from Toi Toi said ‘‘Christchurch has got it right’’ and said it wouldn’t hurt if disposing of rubbish was also a ‘‘tad’’ cheaper.

Christchurch has a three-wheelie bin system with separate councilissued bins for rubbish, recycling, and organics.

However, Gary Michael from Stoke said he preferred using bags.

‘‘The bag fits nicely inside our galvanised rubbish bin...’’ he said.

‘‘Our son lives in Christchurch and I have seen the mess his bin gets into.’’

Sarah Barker from Marybank said she’d like to see a three-bin system like Christchurch had.

‘‘A green waste bin would be more of a priority as a lot of this goes into the rubbish bags or down the waste disposal,’’ she said.