Western Bay of Plenty residents have stopped 3300 tonnes of material going to landfills in the first 12 months of the council's kerbside collection scheme.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council's rates-funded kerbside rubbish and recycling collection service came into effect on July 1, 2021.

Since then, council says 1376 tonnes of glass, 575 tonnes of food waste and 1349 tonnes of mixed recycling have been diverted from NZ landfills.

The recycling service was predicted to increase the amount of material diverted from landfill by about 60 per cent to around 1800 tonnes a year – a number the community nearly doubled.

Deputy CEO and infrastructure group general manager Gary Allis is impressed with the work households are putting in to ensuring a sustainable future.

'What a fantastic result for our first year of the service. We're blown away with the efforts' our residents are making with minimising their waste and doing their recycling right.

'Even with Covid-19 related disruptions and lockdowns, everyone has pulled together as a team and adjusted so well to what was a big shift with the new service.”

As part of ongoing education, council's kerbside coach hits the streets each week, looking at what is in bins to ensure clean and correct materials are presented for recycling.

With educational tags in hand, the kerbside coach does random checks of recycling bins to let people know how they're doing.

Residents receiving a green tag can congratulate themselves as it means they are doing recycling well.

Receiving a yellow tag means there's room for improvement and a red tag means the recycling is contaminated so can't be picked up.

'Although most households are doing a great job, in the most recent SWAP (Solid Waste Analysis Protocol) audit in December 2021, around 13 per cent of mixed recycling, and 34 per cent of kitchen waste was still being sent to landfill,” says Gary.

'Our dedicated Kerbside Collective website www.kerbsidecollective.co.nz has a handy item sorter tool and tips on recycling, so make sure you check it out and ‘if in doubt, throw it out' so we don't undo our hard work and quality recycling doesn't end up in landfill.

'We designed the collection service to incentivise recycling, with a fixed charge for the recycling services and households only paying for the rubbish they generate, providing a financial incentive for people to reduce their waste.

'This system is working well, with a lot of positive feedback received. It's important we keep up the good work to continue the fight against the landfill bulge.”

A way to further help residents save money on PAYT tags for rubbish collection is to use the food scraps bin if you have one. Recycling food waste is organic gold, and our environment will love us for keeping this resource out of the landfill.

'I encourage you to give the food waste collection a go - once you get the hang of it, it really is easy to use. Our website has lots of tips for getting started,” says Gary.

Kerbside Collective reminders:

2022-23 recycling collection calendars

To reduce paper waste, our printed calendars won't be delivered to households this year. Instead, you can download one from www.kerbsidecollective.co.nz , or pick up a copy from our libraries and service centres. Alternatively, download our free Antenno mobile app and get weekly reminder notifications!

Pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) tags
If you'd like your red lid rubbish bin collected, you'll need to purchase a pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) tag. This gives you the choice of how much waste you put out for collection and helps reduce the amount of rubbish going to landfill. Make sure the tag is attached to the bin by looping it through the two handles.

A reminder for property managers of holiday homes in the Western Bay - please let your visitors know the requirements of PAYT tags for rubbish collection.

Tags are available to purchase for $3.95 (RRP) from Council's library and service centres and other retailers.

For a full list visit www.kerbsidecollective.co.nz/payt

Putting your bins out

Remember, put bins out by 7am on collection day. Ensure the bins are accessible, lids are closed properly, and contents are below the lip of the glass crate.