Each collection works out to less than $5 and the cost of the service will be added to the household's rates bill.
The optional garden waste kerbside collection uses a 240-litre wheelie bin and is available for residential households only and will be collected either fortnightly or four-weekly.
The keyword here is optional. If you don't want it, you don't have to.
If you don't have gardens which need pruning or lawns which need trimming, you don't have to opt in. But why wouldn't you?
Nearly 70 per cent of Tauranga's household waste that ends up in landfill could be recycled or composted instead, with 16 per cent being garden waste alone.
Between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020, Rotorua households each generated 532kg of general waste. In the year to June 30, 4718 tonnes of green and wood waste were collected.
At the time this was announced a report stated there was "a substantial amount of green waste going into the red [general waste] bins".
Why wouldn't we want to reduce the amount of waste we are sending to landfill by sorting out green waste?
Having said that, I'm a hypocrite. I don't have a green waste bin. I think the obstacle for me is laziness and unwillingness to do the research on what is out there, look into the cost and pay a weekly or monthly bill.
But if this was done for me, if a green waste service was incorporated into my rates bill, if a green bin showed up on my doorstep, I would fill it and divert that waste out of the landfill.
If I think about how much grass clipping comes from one lawn mow, or how many weeds I pull out in summer, it all adds up.
We should all be doing our part to reduce our footprints on the planet. If that means paying extra for a green waste service, so be it.
Every little bit helps.
