Opinion divided over refuse changes (+ video)

Councillor Charles Sturt

Proposed changes to Rotorua's rubbish and recycling services split opinion on the first day of submission hearings for the district council's Long-term Plan.

In a morning session yesterday that touched on many issues raised in the plan's consultation document, the future of Rotorua's refuse proved to be the main talking point.

The Rotorua Lakes Council's proposal to replace weekly bag collections with kerbside wheelie bins for refuse and recycling is a flagship policy of the Long-term plan.

Representatives of private waste companies joined members of the public and community groups in making presentations on the proposal; many spoke for their full 10 minutes, leaving little time for councillors' questions.

Following a minute's silence in honour of Mauriora Kingi, the council's kaupapa Maori director who died last Friday, the hearings began with a presentation from Mark Bolton on behalf of Fullcircle Recycling which broadly supported the proposal.

The major theme of the morning's hearings had been established. Councillor Charles Sturt said he wondered whether the issue deserved its own working party, separate from discussions over the Long-term Plan.

Waste Management NZ representative David Howie also used his submission to back the council's proposal, saying his company would "strongly support proposals to get rid of bags".

But Peter Fredricsen of Materials Processing, which operates the current recycling centre, was less enthusiastic. He implored the council to consider past investments made in existing facilities.

The council has proposed to close the city's landfill centre.

"There is very little reference [in the consultation document] to the expense and facilities that you have built up ... you have invested quite highly in [the recycling centre]," Mr Fredricsen said.

Submissions from residents and community groups displayed similar differences of opinion.

Dr Ian Mclean, speaking on behalf of himself and fellow Waiariki professor Dr Craig Morley, said he was in favour of the council's proposals.

But there were additional methods that could be employed, including worm farms and plastic-to-fuel conversion. "We need to stop calling it waste and start calling it a resource," he said, quoting Dr Morley's submission.

Other submitters questioned the practicalities of the kerbside model - for both rural and urban communities.

Rosemary Michie worried about the effect the changes would have on some families in the city. "While I understand the use of the bins, a two weekly collection would be quite hard on larger families," she said.

"They have a similar system in Melbourne where my son and his family live. Their bins are pretty full at the end of one week - I don't think two weeks would be enough."

Libby Fletcher, of the Lake Tarawera Ratepayers' Association, claimed the proposal was "completely impractical for the Lake Tarawera community" because of the large number of temporary residents with holiday homes in the region.

Submissions will continue on Thursday and Friday and are open to the public.