The council should reconsider this matter.
LINDSAY PRINCE
Rotorua
In response to Peter Findlay (Letters September 9) and Ursula Dunn (Letters September 12), rubbish will be collected weekly when the new rubbish and recycling collections are introduced at the end of October. Recycling will be collected fortnightly.
Two bins - one for rubbish and a larger bin for recycling - plus a crate for glass will be delivered to properties.
People will be encouraged to "wash and squash" recyclables to fit more into their bin and will also still be able to use the city recycling centre.
The bin for rubbish is about the size of two-and-a-half paper rubbish bags.
There are a number of things we are aiming to achieve:
• Increase the amount of recycling by making it easy to sort your waste and meet community demand for kerbside recycling.
• Reduce the amount of rubbish going to landfill and associated environmental risks.
• Reduce the cost of services - this new service will provide an initial annual saving of approximately $500,000 compared with the current council-run service. Rotorua is one of the few districts still using paper bags so the cost of has become expensive (producing something in fewer quantities costs more than producing it on a larger scale) and the current fleet of rubbish trucks needs replacing, so it was a good time to review services and consider a more efficient, modern service.
• Reduce health and safety risks and injury rates associated with the current, largely manual collection service. Last year a staff member suffered a serious injury which led to amputation after a vehicle drove into the back of a rubbish truck.
People can go to rotorualakescouncil.nz/rubbish and can call 0800 020001 if they have any further questions.
STAVROS MICHAEL
Transport and Waste Manager, Rotorua Lakes Council
