Waipā ratepayers paying high price for recycling crime
Tuesday, 19 September 2023
Thirty-seven properties in Waipā will not have their kerbside recycling picked up by the council as it cracks down on repeat recycling rebels.
It is a way of punishing repeat offenders for dumping food waste, nappies, animal carcasses, medical waste, and so on, in the yellow recycling bin.
This in turn is costing the ratepayers up to $20,000 a month in disposal fees.
It also ends up scrapping the hard work of residents disposing of recycling waste in the right way.
Waipā District Council waste minimisation team leader Sarabjeet Singh says there has been a sharp increase in the number of contaminated bins identified during recent bin audits.
Repeat offenders now face a three-month suspension of their recycling collection, he says.
“It is essential that there are consequences for abusing the service and if we don’t suspend the offenders then it is going to keep costing the ratepayers who do comply.
“Contaminated materials that get mixed in with the good recycling can compromise the whole truckload.”
Once the load is contaminated, instead of being recycled, the material in the truck ends up going to landfill.
The $20,000 per month was an avoidable disposal fee, Singh explained.
In the Waipā District, only recycled glass, paper, cardboard and plastics 1, 2 and 5, and cans/tins - which must be clean and dry - were recycled.
It is an offence under Waipa District Council’s solid waste management and minimisation bylaw 2018 to place non-compliant waste in kerbside recycling bins.
If a recycling bin contained contaminated items, the bin would be stickered and an information flyer left in the letterbox.
“Residents must remove the contaminant and dispose of it in their general rubbish, then the recycling bin can then be placed kerbside at the next collection date.”
Waipā Council only provided kerbside pick-up service for recycling, with user-paid bags needed to access commercial rubbish pick-ups
But Dawn Inglis, Service Delivery group manager, said consultation was underway to include rubbish and food scraps pick-up as part of the long-term plan.
“There’s a level of confusion around whether we do or don’t provide a service, people who have lived in other areas who are used to the council providing the service levels… it creates confusion.
“For some people where things are particularly tough and maybe they’re not able to afford a rubbish bag from the supermarket so they’re kind of just trying to hide it away and put it in the recycling bin.
“Because it’s just so expensive otherwise.”
The council was not exploring the “why’s”, but trying to help people understand the implications, particularly the cost implications for the community, Inglis said.
The fees going to the landfill could be used to “make contributions to the waste minimization fund to fund community groups to help recycling and things”.
“But it’s pretty unfortunate, that it’s just paying for things to go to landfill that otherwise wouldn’t have to.”
When a collection was suspended, offenders would then need to work with council staff to restart collection after the three-month period. This can be done by calling 0800 WAIPA DC (924 723).