What are the options for a new service?

Bag it or bin it?

There are two aspects we want your feedback on to help us come up with options - firstly, the choice of bags or bins, and secondly, the frequency of kerbside collection.

These options will be developed for consideration through the Long-term Plan process in 2024. Food scrap collection will form part of the new service because of the government mandate coming in June 2026.

Bag it or Bin it?

There are two options here:

Option 1: Bags - Continue to use 60L plastic bags and crates for recycling, plus food scraps bin
Option 2: Bins - Wheelie bins for rubbish and recycling, glass in a separate crate, plus food scraps bin

Frequency - weekly or fortnightly?

How often refuse and recycling is collected, will not only impact the cost but will also influence the amount of diversion of materials to landfill achieved. The more frequent waste collection allows more waste to be disposed - and the more frequent the collection, the more expensive.

Weekly (most expensive) - rubbish, recycling and food scraps all collected weekly
Fortnightly + weekly peak - alternating weeks for rubbish and recycling. Weekly for food scraps. Weekly during busy summer period.
Fortnightly (least expensive) - alternating weeks for rubbish and recycling. Weekly for food scraps.

Rates funded or user-pays

As well as considering the collection options, we need to consider how the service will be funded. We could fund this service either through rates, user pays or a combination. These will be considered through development of the LTP. The methods are explained below.

Rates-funded

A rates-funded service, which is a targeted rate applied to properties who have the service available to them and involves each ratepayer within the serviced area paying an equal amount each year for the service.

User-pays or pay as you throw (PAYT)

This approach would involve an owner and/or occupier of a property paying for refuse collection when they use it, recycling is current rate funded. The existing service involves the purchase of a sticker to allow for the collection of kerbside rubbish.

Example

We have done some initial modelling to compare the current service delivery with that of a rates funded bin service, the scenario provided outlines indicative costs of these two approaches. Your feedback and additional costing to be undertaken will help form the options and the costs that will be presented to the community as part of the Long-term Plan Consultation in March 2023

George puts out one rubbish bag each week.

This costs him $104 per year. He also pays $144 in rates for weekly kerbside recycling collection, and towards running the district’s landfill and transfer stations. Together, this costs George $248 per year or $4.76 per week.
If a new bin set is adopted, and the kerbside collection was 100% rates-funded, it would cost George $267 per year or $5.12 per week for all waste and recycling services, including the new food scrap collection. This is $19 more per year.

*Figures are based on indicative modeling.