Pay-as-you-throw tags on sale now
Pre-paid rubbish bin tags aimed to financially incentivise Western Bay residents to reduce their waste are now on sale.
Western Bay of Plenty District Council’s new kerbside rubbish and recycling service starts 1st July. The recommended retail price is $3.95 for each tag.
The pay-as-you-throw rubbish tags are available from a number of stockists across the District including Council Library & Service Centres, supermarkets and dairies. The fluorescent orange prepaid tags are for the red lid rubbish bin component of the new service.
Council Deputy CEO and Group Manager Infrastructure Services, Gary Allis, says Council has attempted to provide an even spread of stockists across the District.
To use the tags, simply purchase a tag from one of the selected stockists, attach the pay-as-you-throw tag to the red rubbish bin by looping through handle and bin attachment. Fasten the tag and place the red lid rubbish bin on the kerb by 7am alongside other bins ready for collection on your collection day.
Gary says on average each household District-wide produces about 640kg of waste per year and these pre-paid tags are an initiative to help reduce the amount of rubbish sent to landfill.
“By implementing a pre-paid system for red lid rubbish bins, each household is only paying for the rubbish they generate and is not bound by a fixed rate – providing a financial incentive for people to reduce their waste.”
Serviced households’ recycling, food waste and glass bins will be collected on a regular basis, but the frequency of the
red lid rubbish bin being collected is up to the resident. Only when a pre-paid pay-as-you-throw tag is attached to the bin will it be collected.
The rubbish collection component of the new service is charged through the pay-as-you-throw tags – a pick up cost only charged when people choose to put their red lid rubbish bin out. This cost is not included in the annual targeted rate being added to eligible households’ rates invoices – $149 for a full service and $98 for a partial service – which covers the recycling component of the service (recycling, glass and food scraps).
“The costs of disposing waste to landfill will continue to increase. To reduce this we all need to think about sending waste from landfill to be recycled or composted,” says Gary.
“Moving from plastic bags to a pay-asyou-throw system is also a better environmental choice for our District.”
Gary reminds Katikati and Aongatete
residents that there will be changes in their collection days from 1st July. Council’s new collection day schedule moves from Friday to Tuesday. The rest of the District’s collection days remain mostly the same with some minor changes.
If unsure of a collection day for the new service, residents can find their collection day printed on the side of their red lid rubbish bin or yellow lid recycling bin.
Residents will also find an information brochure and 12-month collection calendar inside their blue glass crate or food scraps bin. The collection calendar shows households when their first collection for each bin will be in July, as well as timings for all collections for the next 12 months. For more information on pay-as-you-throw tags and the new kerbside rubbish and recycling service, as well as a full list of tag retailers, visit kerbsidecollective.co.nz.