Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Peter Williams: Tauranga City Council fails to impress

Peter Williams
By Peter Williams
Bay of Plenty Times·
24 Aug, 2018 05:10 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Bottle collection bins in Tauranga appear to have fallen by the wayside as Tauranga City Council introduces kerbside recycling, at a cost. Photo/file

Bottle collection bins in Tauranga appear to have fallen by the wayside as Tauranga City Council introduces kerbside recycling, at a cost. Photo/file

Once, in the distant past, the foundation of education was the "3 Rs". That is reading, (w)riting and (a)rithmetic.

That concept disappeared years ago. More's the pity.

Once in the distant past, local government was about the "3 Rs" too. Rates, roads and rubbish.

In other words, councils should collect the rates, build and maintain the roads and pick up the rubbish.

To be fair that was pretty simplistic. Councils have always built, owned and maintained civic buildings like town halls, they've provided libraries and they've looked after parks and reserves.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But in Tauranga, it seems they don't even do the basics right.

This year my wife and I moved from an apartment, where the body corporate took care of the rubbish and recycling collections, to a house.

The day after we moved in I noticed that there were no rubbish bins left by the previous owner. Naively, I rang the council asking for some new ones to be dropped off.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The young woman at the call centre very nicely told me that I had to arrange that myself, and very kindly gave me the names of some companies I could contact.

What the?

Having previously paid rates in six local authorities before becoming a Tauranga property owner, you come to expect rubbish collection is a right, a basic council function.

Not here.

Discover more

Opinion: Trying a little tenderness in troubling times

21 Aug 06:00 AM

Opinion: Memorial Park walkway would be a sight to see

22 Aug 05:41 PM

Opinion: Why do so many people hate cyclists?

23 Aug 05:00 PM

Opinion: Boys and men should feel it's okay to open up

24 Aug 06:07 PM

You either pay your $500 a year to Waste Management or JJ Richards or whoever, or you take your own rubbish to the tip – where a carload of rubbish will cost you at least $13.32 anyway.

So for my $500 I was given three bins – general rubbish, recycling and green waste.

Except that the rules said no glass in the recycling.

That's because, according to council contractors, it's too dangerous for the workers to sort because they might cut their hands.

Ever heard of strong gloves?

But don't worry, said the council. There'll be a neighbourhood glass recycling centre. In my case, it was at the Mount Maunganui RSA carpark.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

I went there once and unloaded some empties. Then I went back, maybe a month later, and it didn't exist anymore.

Apparently, there was too much noise for the neighbours and the RSA patrons from the empties being dumped. Who would have thought?

Being a good citizen, I took my empties down to the recycling bin at the Te Maunga transfer station.

Others, so I've heard, just put their bottles in the general rubbish. Wrong on so many counts, but who could blame them?

But it seems we've finally enough had enough of this nonsense. This spring, we're going to get kerbside glass recycling again.

But nothing is that simple. On top of some of the most expensive rates in the country, Tauranga ratepayers have to cough up another $26 a year to have the glass picked up.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Why? Can't a council which already charges me 0.36 per cent of my property's assessed capital value in rates, not afford a further measly $26 to collect my empty bottles?

Perhaps, they could cut back on the $220 I pay them for "community" development or the $110 contribution to "economic development" or the $715 of my rates that goes towards "transportation". That wouldn't be for those mostly empty Bayhopper yellow buses would it?

And if you think 0.36 per cent of capital value is a measly percentage, compare it to Auckland. The number for our former property there was 0.22 per cent - rubbish and recycling included, although water was extra. The rates charge for our holiday place in Wanaka is 0.25 per cent of the CV - all water and all rubbish included.

Something is amiss in this city. Rates are high and the service is low. There's a council election next year.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'Needs to be killed': Gang president allegedly ordered fatal attack on fellow member

03 Jul 08:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Oh hell, yeah': Pensioner moves from leaky caravan to new elder village

03 Jul 07:32 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Heavy rain warnings: BoP acts like 'scoop' for wild weather

02 Jul 09:19 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'Needs to be killed': Gang president allegedly ordered fatal attack on fellow member

'Needs to be killed': Gang president allegedly ordered fatal attack on fellow member

03 Jul 08:00 AM

After nearly three weeks of evidence, counsel have begun delivering closing statements.

'Oh hell, yeah': Pensioner moves from leaky caravan to new elder village

'Oh hell, yeah': Pensioner moves from leaky caravan to new elder village

03 Jul 07:32 AM
Heavy rain warnings: BoP acts like 'scoop' for wild weather

Heavy rain warnings: BoP acts like 'scoop' for wild weather

02 Jul 09:19 PM
'Scary stuff': Locals on crash corner fear it will take a death to get it fixed

'Scary stuff': Locals on crash corner fear it will take a death to get it fixed

02 Jul 09:11 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP