Christchurch considers separate glass collection – but it will come at a cost

Friday, 3 July 2026

Christchurch households could pay up to $104 a year more in rates under a raft of waste management proposals – which could include adding a fourth kerbside bin into the mix.

The city council has opened consultation on its draft waste management and minimisation plan and two related policies.

These include proposals to investigate having separate glass collection and processing; to establish a dedicated litter and illegal dumping team; and to create a service to help repurpose unwanted household goods.

Council resource recovery manager Alec McNeil said public feedback would help elected members decide whether the proposals should be investigated further.

Only provisional costs were available right now, he said, but, as with any new service, “there will be an impact on rates if these proposals come to fruition”.

One of the ideas being considered is having a separate kerbside glass collection.

This would require every household to receive an additional 80-litre wheelie bin (the same size as the green organics bin), as well as extra collection trucks and access to a glass processing facility – to pre-sort bottles and jars before they could be recycled into new glass products.

The proposed scheme is estimated to cost households between $65 and $75 a year.

Councillor Pauline Cotter said she was keeping an open mind about it, and would wait to see what feedback the council gets on its consultation – particularly around the extra cost.

“We know how tough it is for people at the moment … $60, $75 a year is a little bit more money for people.”

At the moment, much of the glass people put in their recycling bins is being ground up and used in roading, she said.

“I know that people are generally wanting true recycling, because if you make new glass products you’re getting a product out of that, you’re not just throwing it into the ground,” Cotter said.

“But it’s just not as easy as it sounds, so it means council taking a whole new direction on glass.”

Aaron Keown, who was the only councillor to vote against putting the draft plan out for consultation, said the proposal sounded like billing ratepayers more, for “the privilege of hopefully actually recycling products”.

“My really, really clear position in a nutshell is it does not need to cost more money and it should not cost more money, and we should have way better outcomes for the environment – and then people can have confidence is us doing their recycling.”

He believed workable, economical alternatives for more solution-focused glass recycling already existed, but said the council’s system was resistant to change.

“I question any suggestions contrary to that. So if someone’s suggesting that it can’t be done, why? Because I’ve spoken to the companies that can deliver it and … it can cost the ratepayer no more money.”

The proposed new service that would see the council working with community organisations to repurpose and extend the life of unwanted household goods is estimated to cost about $25 per household each year.

Meanwhile, having a dedicated team to respond to littering, illegal dumping and strengthen enforcement is estimated to cost $4 per household annually.

Waste management accounts for about 6% of the council’s rates spending, with about $550 million budgeted in the long-term plan from 2024 to 2034.

McNeil said the draft litter and illegal dumping policy supported the council’s goal of sending less waste to landfill by focusing on reducing, reusing and repurposing materials. Councils are required to review their waste management and minimisation plans every six years.

Consultation on the draft plan and the two policies opened on Friday. Members of the public can make a submission online here until August 3.