Cost savings and waste reduction focus in South Taranaki kerbside collection review

South Taranaki District Council is proposing to begin weekly food waste collection, among other changes to its kerbside waste services. Photo / George Novak

More recycling and composting by residents could save South Taranaki District Council $130,000 in Government waste levies, as well as reducing waste to landfill.

The council is asking residents what they think about a proposal to change the size of their kerbside wheelie bins, move to a fortnightly collection and introduce a food waste collection bin.

Infrastructure services group manager Herbert Denton said the proposal was part of the council’s waste management and minimisation plan, which will be open for public feedback until October 11.

“Managing our waste is not cheap. Last year it cost $5.5 million to run our waste management services, and over the next six years, it’s only going to get more expensive due to increases [in] the Government waste levy and rising costs for the kerbside collection service for things such as fuel and new collection vehicles.”

The $50 Government levy for each tonne of waste sent to landfill would rise to $60 on July 1, 2024, Denton said. South Taranaki currently sends 13,639 tonnes of waste to landfill, which meant the council would have to pay almost $820,000 in waste levies.

“We know that up to 60 per cent of what people put in their general waste bins could be recycled or composted,” Denton said.

“If we could divert that amount from the 3632 tonnes of waste collected from the kerbside, we could save $130,000 on the cost of Government levies alone.”

The council is consulting on two options.

Its preferred option includes increasing the size of the general waste kerbside collection bin from 120 to 140 litres, increasing the size of recycling kerbside collection bins from 140 to 240 litres, collecting the general waste and recycling bins and 60-litre glass crates fortnightly, and introducing a 25-litre food waste bin to be collected weekly. The estimated cost per property would be around $325 a year.

The second option is to keep the weekly kerbside collection for general waste and recycling, introduce a 25-litre food waste bin to be collected weekly and keep collecting the 60-litre glass crate weekly. The annual cost would be around around $400 per property.

Currently, South Taranaki residents send around 120 kilograms of waste per person to landfill each year, 30kg more than New Plymouth residents’ 90kg. Denton said this was partly because New Plymouth’s waste was collected fortnightly as opposed to South Taranaki’s weekly collection, and food waste was also collected.

“The benefits of [the] council’s proposal are twofold - to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and to keep cost increases to a minimum.

“By moving to a fortnightly collection and sending less waste to landfill, we can significantly reduce our emissions footprint and reduce the amount of Government waste levies and kerbside collection rates we will have to pay. This will reduce future cost increases on the annual kerbside rubbish and recycling targeted rate by around $75.

“Ultimately, the amount of waste we currently generate and send to landfill is no longer environmentally or economically sustainable, and we must change what we do.”

For more information and to have a say, visit one of South Taranaki’s LibraryPlus centres or the administration building in Albion St, Hāwera, or go to www.southtaranaki.com.