Tauranga Council marks four weeks of new service

From July 1 – 28, Tauranga City Council has collected 280 tonnes of food scraps, 459 tonnes of recycling, 295 tonnes of glass and 907 tonnes of rubbish. Supplied photo.

Tauranga City Council is marking four-weeks of the new rubbish, recycling and food scraps kerbside service.

About 53 per cent of household waste collected from kerbsides through the new service is being recycled or composted, that's about 1034 tonnes being diverted from landfill, says a statement from Tauranga City Council.

From July 1 – 28, Tauranga City Council has collected 280 tonnes of food scraps, 459 tonnes of recycling, 295 tonnes of glass and 907 tonnes of rubbish.

This equates to 1034 tonnes of waste recycled or composted compared to 907 tonnes of rubbish sent to landfill.

Sustainability and waste manager Sam Fellows says this is a great start to the new service.

'Tauranga residents should be really proud of what they've achieved already. We know this is a huge change for our community, so it's been fantastic to see so many households get behind the new service. Sending less to landfill is better for our people and our environment.”

It will take time for some of our residents to get familiar with the new service and to change their habits.

Council's advice is for residents who are finding they don't have enough space in their rubbish bins every fortnight, to look at what they are throwing away.

More often than not, many items can be recycled or composted which frees up space in the rubbish bin.

The new food scraps bins are the biggest change for the community; and this is where residents can make the most impact, with 33 per cent of households waste sent to landfill being food scraps in 2020.

'It's great to see so many food scraps bins lined up each week ready for collection. It means we can give food scraps a new life as nutrient rich compost instead of sitting in a landfill,” says Sam.

Almost 10,000 households across Tauranga have signed up for the new optional garden waste service, with about 140 tonnes of garden waste being collected this month.

In 2020, kerbside household waste audits showed 16 per cent of household waste sent to landfill was garden waste.

Residents can continue to sign up to this service via our website.

Tauranga City Council aims to halve what households send to landfill by 2028.

'Before the new kerbside service began, Tauranga sent 200kgs per capita to landfill per annum - that's one of the worst rates in the country. Data from the first four weeks of the service shows that we're on track to significantly reduce this amount,' explains Sam.

Tips for using your food scraps bin

  • To avoid food scraps sticking to the bottom of your bin make sure the inside is dry and line it with a paper bag, newspaper or paper towels.
  • Remember to lock the lid of your food scraps bin by lifting the handle forward or up to keep the animals away and prevent spillage.
  • You can freeze your food scraps until collection day to help with odour and help keep your bin clean.

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5 comments

People had no choice

Posted on 04-08-2021 08:26 | By The Sage

Not only did Council kill most of the local businesses, providing this service, but they gave the contract to a Chinese Consortium and added the cost into people's rates. I have stuck with Kleana Bins.


food

Posted on 04-08-2021 11:52 | By dumbkof2

so the council charges you to take away your food scraps then sell it back to you as compost.


Wrong decision from the start!

Posted on 04-08-2021 12:30 | By uli

Writing positive reviews does not make a wrong decision better, even if it is repeated often. They could easily reduce the rubbish if they install a "pay as you throw" system. Not necessarily the expensive "per weight" system. Instead with the RFID chip they could record how often the bin is emptied and charged accordingly. I would only need our bin emptied every 8 weeks but pay for fortnightly emptying. As the council website says the "one size fits all" is more economically. But only for those producing lots of rubbish since those producing little rubbish are subsidising them. At the moment why pay for an additional service if all the waste (including garden waste and recycling) fits in the rubbish.


@ Sage

Posted on 05-08-2021 11:01 | By Kancho

Well I guess you have chosen in effect to pay twice then for rubbish removal ? As you still pay your local contractor and the rates bill increase too. Not sure the local business can be sustained now the council has pulled the rug out from under them . Or are you just talking green bins being the extra. A stand of principle rather than cost


@uli

Posted on 05-08-2021 12:51 | By morepork

I agree with you that, no matter how they spin it, it was still a wrong decision. Having said that, it is what it is and we should try to make it work. I hope it achieves some kind of success.


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