Kerbside recycling and food waste collections could be on the way
Published on 11 August 2021
Many Whanganui households are used to gathering up recycling at home to take to the Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre, but that could all change. From Monday, 23 August Whanganui District Council will be asking for community feedback on its draft Waste Plan 2021, which proposes two new rates-funded kerbside collection services for urban households: recycling in 2023 and food waste in 2024.
The rates increase – per household per year – would be about $70 for kerbside recycling and about $40 for kerbside food waste.
The council’s waste advisor, Stuart Hylton, says the council wants to get more involved in waste services so the community can minimise waste to landfill, with a target of diverting 15,000 tonnes from landfill over six years.
The draft Waste Plan focuses on services which will make the biggest impact.
Stuart Hylton says a kerbside recycling service could divert an extra 800 tonnes per year over and above what is currently recycled through the Resource Recovery Centre.
“The reality is a kerbside recycling collection would be more convenient for some households, particularly those who find it difficult to get into the Centre.”
The proposed recycling service would take glass, paper, cardboard, plastic, cans and tins.
Councillor Rob Vinsen, who chairs the council’s Waste Minimisation Advisory Group, says the council’s 2018 Household Waste Survey showed there was community interest in a kerbside recycling service, and “with a growing public awareness of environmental issues around waste” he believes the support for such a service has grown.
Cr Vinsen says the proposed recycling service would be introduced in 2023 because it takes that long to go through the long-term plan amendment process, go out for tender and build up infrastructure.
The Resource Recovery Centre would continue to operate for products that can’t be collected kerbside and 24/7 for rural households without a kerbside recycling collection.
Stuart Hylton says the second big change proposed in the draft Waste Plan is a kerbside food waste collection.
He says it’s important to keep food waste out of landfills because it produces greenhouse gases when it breaks down, contributing to climate change.
“A kerbside food waste service could divert 1,700 tonnes from landfill and make a real difference environmentally.
“The great thing about a commercial food waste collection is it can take all kinds of food waste, even items like cooked food, dairy, meat and fish that can’t go into home compost bins or worm farms.”
Cr Vinsen says the council is proposing that kerbside rubbish collection stays with the private sector.
“If a rates-funded kerbside rubbish collection was introduced it would be about $160 per household per year, and we think this is too costly.
“We are aware of the benefits of private sector rubbish collection services – they can offer households a range of options including ‘pay as you throw’ (where you only pay for the amount you throw out).
“’Pay as you throw’ services are a great help for householders wanting to reduce costs and it encourages people to send less to landfill, which is a win for the environment.”
An estimated 25% of what goes to landfill is construction and demolition waste, so the council wants to work with an organisation to set up a service to divert this waste stream from landfill.
Cr Vinsen says he hopes more and more households will get the waste reduction message.
“Recycle all you can, and then send only minimal residual waste to landfill. It’s the responsible thing to do.”
The council will be asking for community feedback on the draft Waste Plan 2021 from Monday, 23 August to Monday, 27 September. There will then be an opportunity to give feedback on service details during the long-term plan amendment process in March 2022.