Inorganic collection returns to Franklin
Inorganic rubbish collections are set to return to Franklin after more than 10 years but those who enjoy scavenging through mounds of dumped rubbish on the roadside will be out of luck.
Instead of a traditional collection where rubbish is collected from the kerbside, the new system will involve a prearranged pick-up service from resident’s properties.
The collections were part of Auckland Council’s 10- year budget, which was approved on June 25, and are expected to kick off in September in Rodney, North Shore and Waitakere.
Franklin has been included in the central and south section of the scheduled collections which will start from February 2016.
Under the new system, residents will get flyers in their letterboxes telling them when the annual collection time is approaching. They will then book in with the council to have inorganic rubbish collected.
All rubbish will be collected from the resident’s property rather than the kerbside. Any items left on the kerbside will be considered illegal dumping and those responsible could be fined up to $400.
Each property owner will be able to put out one cubic metre of material a year with the council planning to divert as much of the rubbish as it can for re-use and recycling.
The aim is to more effectively recycle the material that’s collected, as well as discouraging illegal dumping and the scenes of chaos residents have had to endure at inorganic collection time.
‘‘ Currently
inorganic materials collected are sent to landfill,’’ Auckland Council solid waste manager Ian Stupple said.
‘‘The new service will enable the recovery of more resources for reuse and recycling.’’
The operation will be ratesfunded.
The Auckland Council side of Franklin has not had an inorganic rubbish collection for more than 10 years.
Former Franklin District Council Mayor Heather Maloney, who was in office from 1998-2004, said they got rid of the service after the dumping of rubbish got ‘‘out of hand’’.
Former Franklin District councillor and now Waikato District councillor Lionel Petersen said the kerbside collections generated a lot of mess in Franklin.
‘‘I recall that in Ramarama, opposite the hall, a mountain of over 150 metres long of inorganics,’’ he said.
‘‘ The conclusion that we came to was that it was all coming from outside of the district so it was not our rubbish but we were paying to have it cleaned up.’’
But with the new collection process, those issues should not be repeated.
Waikato District Council’s proposed rubbish collection involves a similar phone-in inorganic collection service.