Kerbside rubbish dispute
We received an opinion article from Marion Hall, former owner of Katikati Bin Hire. We have put her questions and comments to the District Council. Kaimai Ward’s Councillor Murray Grainger responds.
MH: The leaflet that has been circulated by the WBOPD Council is seriously misleading in that people think they have to use the new service. They do not. So are the responses given by the phone line.
MG: Nowhere does the leaflet say or imply that residents have to use the new service.
MH: If you ask the phone line, “Can I opt-out of this rubbish service?” the answer is “No”. But you can.
MG: You cannot opt-out of being charged for the kerbside collection, just as you cannot opt-out of being charged for roads, libraries, swimming pools, parks and so on.
MH: Simply don't buy the ‘tickets’ and don't use the household rubbish bin. Continue to use your current provider.
MG: Absolutely! If you do not wish to buy the $3.95 pay-as-you-throw tags, then don’t. If you have access to a more cost-effective contractor, by all means, pay another contractor to collect your rubbish.
MH: Whilst I can't speak for the others, Katikati Bin Hire rubbish bins, recycling, and red kerbside bags and Katikati Garden Bins will continue as they are now. If ever there was an opportunity to ‘tell’ the Council we don't want this - how often do they do an ‘Ask the people’ and then completely ignore the results? So let’s boycott this new system.
MG: The proposal for kerbside rubbish and recycling collection services went out for consultation in 2019 as an amendment to the Long Term Plan 2018-2028.
Council hosted five drop-in sessions on the topic as follows: Saturday 30th March, 9am-12pm, Waihī Beach RSA. Wednesday 3rd April, 4pm-7pm, Te Puna Quarry Park Gallery, Saturday 6th April, 9am-12pm, Te Puke Memorial Hall. Wednesday 10th April, 4pm-7pm, Maketū Community Centre. Saturday 13th April, 9am-12pm, Katikati Community Centre, The Centre - Pātuki Manawa.
As a result, the system Council is implementing on 1st July 2021 was the most preferred of three options, gaining 63 per cent support.
MH: Simply do not take the bins left at the kerb onto your property, leave them out at the kerb. You didn't ask for them, and if you don't want them, then don't take them. The Council has not replied to my question, “what will you do about bins left at the kerb?”
As far as the recycling bin is concerned, I have to question the rationale in giving a 240-litre wheelie (large) to be emptied fortnightly and only takes plastics 1 and 2. Lots of residents do their own recycling, the current rubbish collectors mostly offer a recycling service, and seriously hardly anyone needs a 240 litre emptied fortnightly. My estimation would be that very few of them will be needed, yet as they are charged for on the rates, you are forced into paying for a service that most don't need and a lot don't want.
MG: The recycling bin can be used for paper, cardboard, tin, aluminium as well as plastics 1 & 2. The glass bin can be used for glass that is currently not collected by contractors. There is no requirement to put the bin out every fortnight. People will put it out when it is full, just like they do now.
MH: Not so long ago, glass collections were stopped, so how can we suddenly have markets again, not just for glass but for all the recycling?
MG: Kerbside glass collection stopped in March 2017 due to sorting issues at the Materials Recycling Facility in Tauranga and not due to the lack of markets. Council’s recycling centres continued to send colour sorted glass to the smelters in Auckland throughout this period. For the residents of Omokoroa, Council provided a temporary glass collection depot at the FreshChoice funded through the waste minimisation fund. This service will stop once the kerbside service is introduced.
There has always been a demand for glass recycling in New Zealand. Not only is it recyclable an indefinite number of times, but it is also recycled in Auckland and is not reliant on overseas markets. Previous collections were stopped due to the collection method causing high levels of contamination through broken glass mixing with other recycling items rendering them waste. In regards to other items collected for recycling, scrap tin and aluminium have always been in high demand. Paper and cardboard are in high demand in the pulp and paper industry and types 1 & 2 plastics are highquality recyclable products.
MH: If reducing rubbish to landfill was so important, why has JJ Richards been allowed for years to offer a mixed bin, rubbish, recycling and green waste all into the same bin? When I asked this question, it was replied to as a politician would avoided.
MG: That is exactly the issue Council is attempting to address with the new service.
MH: Why has the contract been given to a huge contractor? How long do we seriously believe they will hold the costs currently being quoted? They can't. Truck running costs, tip fees, driver wages. It simply can't be done. So, next thing, “oops, we underestimated the cost,” and up it goes.
MG: The multi-year contract was awarded after a rigorous process evaluating all the submissions from the various companies who tendered for the work.
Our tender process was open to all who wanted to submit. Local contractors were encouraged to work together to formulate a strong submission.
MH: Most important from my perspective (and I no longer own the bin business so it is not a financial one for me) is that people do not have to use the general rubbish service, they can continue to use whoever they are happy with now. And keep our small businesses, who have worked as essential through lockdown, and who aren't huge overseas conglomerates making billions, keep our small businesses going.
What is the cost to ratepayers of all this advertising, radio, newspaper, leaflets? I have been stopped in the street, emailed, Facebooked, and am spending a lot of time being asked about this new service. Anyone who recognises me, asks me, “what about this new rubbish system?”