Waipawa and Takapau rubbish gets a road trip as local dumps close

The Waipukurau refuse transfer station will now be the district’s sole venue for the public to dump rubbish if they don’t have kerbside collection.

From Monday the Waipawa and Takapau refuse transfer stations will be permanently closed, a cost-cutting measure by Central Hawke’s Bay District Council that is upsetting some Waipawa and Takapau residents.

Those unhappy with the move are citing the inconvenience of travelling from Takapau or Waipawa to dump rubbish, an increased risk of “fly tipping” along the district’s rivers, and claiming it’s a “focus on Waipukurau”.

But Central Hawke’s Bay District Mayor Alex Walker says the numbers simply didn’t stack up.

“The average 163 people each week (28 in Takapau and 135 in Waipawa) who were using those services was not enough to justify keeping them open. They already had one stay of execution in 2021, when the council expanded the kerbside recycling to Otane, Takapau, Ongaonga and Tikokino.

“More than two-thirds of our households across the district now have weekly rubbish and recycling pick-ups. We also have the recycling drop-off centres and the rural recycling trailers still in operation.

“For context, Hastings district is more than twice the land area of CHB and 10 times the population, and has only two transfer stations. Napier only has one. The change to our level of service is in line with those received by other communities.

“I know for those people who were using the stations that this change has a big impact on their household routines. I also know that it feels weird to be paying more for our rates while still seeing reductions in services. But it is close to $100k of costs each year that are being met by the general ratepayer that in the current environment is unnecessary. Both sites would also have required upgrades over the next few years.

“Councillors have debated this long and hard after months of public conversations, but the decision was that the best use of ratepayer resources was to not continue with the transfer stations. This will take time to get used to, but it will be manageable.

“Thankfully, we have also managed to align it with the installation of the new weighbridge in Waipukurau, majority funded by waste levies from the Ministry for the Environment. Over the next few months this will help us move to a much-fairer user-pays gate charging system. If we had multiple stations operating, this system would not work.”

Not everyone is seeing the move as an inconvenience, however, with one Takapau resident commenting, “The land the transfer station sits on is Māori land so let the whenua be restored back. Makirikiri Stream, which runs behind our urupā and behind the transfer station can start to rejuvenate, the health of our environment will improve, and consequently, the wellbeing of the people.”

The recycling drop-off centres will remain in both Takapau and Waipawa, with some commenters saying the removal of the transfer stations is another message that people should be recycling rather than dumping.

Mayor Walker agrees, adding “Most of the effort for recycling needs to happen at home and in how we purchase, treat, sort, store. For instance, composting — green and food waste creates half of what people put in their rubbish and send to landfill, but how many people have their own bokashi or compost?

“I also want to be clear that the site in Waipukurau will not be suitable for the long-term future and ultimately, a resource recovery centre will need to be built at another location for the district. That is the long-term vision which will help us considerably to remove even more recyclable and reusable goods from the waste stream and reduce what goes in to our landfill.”

Alongside the two closures, changes include the Waipukurau transfer station now opening seven days a week, with reduced weekday hours, and adjusted hours for the Pōrangahau Transfer Station.

Transfer station changes:

• Waipukurau Transfer Station will be open seven days a week with adjusted operating hours (Monday to Friday 9.30am-4.30pm. Saturday and Sunday, 9am-5pm).
• Pōrangahau Transfer Station will also have adjusted operating hours (Wednesday and Sunday, 1pm-3pm).
• Waipawa and Takapau transfer stations will be permanently closed.