Tauranga City Council has included a proposal to introduce a rates-funded kerbside rubbish and recycling service in 2021 in their draft Long Term Plan 2018-2028 which will go out for public consultation in March 2018.
The public will be asked if they would like to continue with the current private collection services, or have a centrally managed rates-funded service.
The proposal comes as a result of last year's Waste Management and Minimisation Plan, which sets out actions to minimise Tauranga's waste to landfill and for the city to recycle more.
Currently almost 70 per cent of the kerbside waste that Tauranga sends to landfill could be recycled.
Acting Manager for Resource Recovery and Waste, Cathy Davidson, says a Council-managed service would mean on average, collection costs to residents would be lower, but most importantly it would enable Council to address the current issues around the types of materials that are accepted at the kerbside for recycling.
'There are recycling limitations with the current system, where decisions are based on economic rather than environmental outcomes.
'With current privately managed services the Council has no control over which materials the waste operators choose to collect.”
Modelling for the proposal is based on a three-bin service to collect rubbish, mixed recycling and organic waste (garden and/or food) but Cathy stressed that this is not necessarily the service that would be introduced in 2021.
'The details of the proposed service, such as collection frequencies, what we'll collect, size and types of bins, user-pays, special requirements, etc., all need to be further investigated and determined.
'But before we invest time and money in doing this we want to know that the community agrees, in principle, that a rates-funded service should be introduced.
'We are really pleased that this opportunity to make a big difference to Tauranga's waste management is now on the table. Hopefully, the community will get in involved and have their say on this important environmental topic in March next year.”
More information about the proposed kerbside rubbish and recycling service is available on the Tauranga City Council website.
15 comments
TCC incompetence
Posted on 27-12-2017 10:04 | By Captain Sensible
TCC keep well away from this......leave it to the experts.
If it
Posted on 27-12-2017 11:28 | By Merlin
If it aint broke you don't need to fix it.
At what cost..?
Posted on 27-12-2017 13:01 | By Moby
First question would have to be at what cost as council operations are notoriously less cost efficient than private sector ones. I don't want to authorize a blank cheque for council to bill me for what is bound to be considerably more than I pay now.So before any form of sensible comment can be made I want the cost identified and then a commitment that the quoted price is it, with no increases or over runs allowed as seems to be normal practice for council guestimates of costs.
Kerbside rubbish collections
Posted on 27-12-2017 13:14 | By Val.M
Sounds good BUT for those of us down driveways it could be a problem. Cars parked all along the road because of pre school centre leaving only space for one bin between my neighbour and myself. PLUS with my health issues and living on my own I am not able to take my bin out anyway. So please take into consideration these 2 aspects as well. Thanks Council.
Rubbish
Posted on 27-12-2017 17:06 | By Told you
How on earth will the Council manage Rubbish collections when they have so many other priorities like a Museum,water,roading,Parking,sewerage etc,walk before you run isI
Silly idea
Posted on 27-12-2017 17:09 | By Told you
Give the proposal a miss.
Rubbish
Posted on 27-12-2017 18:35 | By sangrae
Why do we have to wait until 2021 for a decent rubbish and recycling kerbside collection is this to allow the present offshore companies to manipulate the council employees , come on councillors 3 yrs is too long to wait how about making some hard and fast decisions once and for all.
Slippery slope backwards
Posted on 27-12-2017 19:39 | By sobeit
About $247 a year sucker ratepayers are told. Yeah right ! That will be the first charge and then the sky will be the limit. Households of 6 will be subsidised by households of one . Council workers will be unionised and will strike when it suits them. Councillors, we've been there,done that,it didn't work and that's why it was changed to private contractors. This is madness and no,I've no vested interest.
OMG
Posted on 27-12-2017 19:42 | By Capt_Kaveman
What a waste of space this lot at TCC, i put my money that people will vote with the current system
why wait till 2021?
Posted on 28-12-2017 08:41 | By A.Campbell
This council is joking right? they say 70% of stuff currently in landfills can be recycled? yet in a few months they ridding bottles from recycling bins that we currently pay for? this will only create people (like me) to just rid the recycle bin and simply put everything into general waste, its only an extra bag out which basically is the cost of a bin yearly anyhow. I don't see how logic this plan of theirs is? if it's 70% NOW, hate to see what their figure will be by year 2021?
Stick to what you know
Posted on 28-12-2017 12:23 | By tibs
At the end of the day, the disposal of the collected matter is a commercial activity. The council are not renowned for their commercial acumen. The stuff would still be collected by contractors and I doubt much would change except the cost would be fudged around in the rates figures. Their stated current ratepayer average cost is way higher than mine, so I'm happy to stay with the current set up but may review service providers as regards collecting glass, when that happens in March 2018. What can change? The non recycled matter will still go to Hampton Downs landfill but council will meddle and employ people to inspect bins prior to emptying them. Think about the carry on with the camper vans. Just say no, don't employ more contractors to issue tickets by night and police the areas where they may stay. It's all more bureaucracy. Stay away!
Propaganda same as Rotorua City Council
Posted on 28-12-2017 18:00 | By Ulysses
Rotorua used the same story and said costs would be minimal.Rotorua Council got their way and now costs have sky rocketed above projections
Council must get involved.
Posted on 28-12-2017 21:13 | By waiknot
Commercial Refuse Collection companies will collect, recycle according to the best result for their financial bottom line. Commercial operators may still collect the refuse, but council must set the parameters based on the needs of the city.
Lower costs?
Posted on 28-12-2017 22:37 | By The Sage
What a crock to say that a Council run service would be more economical. If anyone believes that they need their head read. I totally agree with Tibs, the Council are not known for their business acumen. Leave it to the private contractors, I am more than happy with my current service. How much is all this consultation going to cost. The Consultants will be getting fat off it and more Council money down the drain. Most reasonably intelligent people know the difference in service between a privately owned business and a conglomerate. Retail and Restaurants that are part of a chain are never as well run as owner operated.
Sage confused
Posted on 29-12-2017 12:37 | By maildrop
What is the difference between a privately owned business and a conglomerate?! I think you're talking about something else? On my street there are sometimes 4 different companies collecting a handful of rubbish each. It seems very inefficient to me and there is undoubtedly room for efficiency savings if one organisation did the job lot, particularly a public entity not motivated primarily by profit. You're simply wrong to assert chains are never as well run as owner operated. The world is littered with people who went out of business, particularly in retail and food. Chains - I'm thinking Amazon, Wallmart, Costco, Tesco, McDonald's, Starbucks, et al. They are extremely well run and successful, regardless of what you think of their product. Your understanding of businesses and terminology seems a little lacking. The economies of scale are certainly there, whether TCC can manage it well remains to be seen.
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