Frequently asked questions

We're looking for residents' feedback on changes to our recycling and rubbish collection approach.

We need to make decisions in the current financial year on the new systems that we will need to put in place from 1 July 2021 as part of the next LTP. 

The decisions we make this year will result in changes to a number of the financial tables included in our current LTP. These changes are outlined in detail in the Amendment to the LTP.

We were planning to include rubbish and recycling in our consultation for the current Annual Plan. Due to Covid-19 and other priorities we deferred consulting on changes to rubbish and recycling.

Rolling out a new system for rubbish and recycling across our city is a big undertaking. We want to introduce a service which is the best it can be and continue to help households to reduce waste.

For the new service to be operational in 2021 we need to consult and make decisions during 2020. After the decision has been made we will work on getting everything we need organised to improve our recycling and rubbish services. This includes the selected service providers buying new collection trucks and rolling out new bins.

Protecting our environment is a concern for many people. Stopping rubbish entering our waterways and reducing what we send to landfill all helps. We can all do better and especially if we have a properly functioning rubbish and recycling system for our city. 

Every year, on average, every person in the Wellington region sends more than 600kg of rubbish to landfill. We need to overhaul the current system for rubbish and recycling to provide a service to residents that meets your needs, reduces the amount of litter entering our waterways, and reducing what we send to landfill unnecessarily. That’s why we’re consulting with you on the options available.

You can:

• Fill out the online feedback form
• Fill out the printed feedback form and return it to us by Sunday 16 August.
• Korero with your councillors. Your elected representatives will be available online. Send them a message! 
• Call us on 04 570 6666 to arrange a time for us to talk to you. 
• Write to us at: Rubbish and Recycling, Freepost 100039, Private Bag 31912, Lower Hutt 5040.

Council is scheduled to make a decision in mid-September 2020.

Council’s rubbish and recycling collection service contracts expire on 30 June 2021. These contracts have already been extended several times, and a further extension is not feasible. 

Rolling out a new system for rubbish and recycling to residents across our city is a big undertaking. We want to introduce a service which is the best it can be and continue to help households to reduce waste. 

For the new service to be operational in July 2021 we need to consult now. This allows time for you to make any changes you need to make to your current rubbish collection arrangement. After the decision has been made (by mid-September 2020) we will work on getting everything we need organised to implement any new recycling and rubbish service. This includes the selected service providers purchasing new trucks, and rolling out the new bins.

While Covid-19 and the ongoing impacts of the economic, financial and social consequences are expected to continue into the future, we know that there was minimal financial impact on the rubbish and recycling services during the lockdown between March and May. Because of this we have assumed that any future situation resulting in lockdown would be unlikely to impact the cost of the service. 

Businesses and households will be under significant pressure in the months ahead so we need to ensure that whatever rubbish and recycling system is introduced is cost effective and provides value for money. Pricing of the proposed services may also be affected in the future and we would advise residents of this.

The community’s ability to pay may be adversely affected, and Council has responded with a range of initiatives to support the Lower Hutt community. Council’s Covid-19 Response Plan includes measures to reduce financial stress and provide social support to residents including:

• new rates postponement policy
• support to businesses
• a focus on welfare, and
• other initiatives including a new Community Resilience Fund.

Keep in touch through our Hutt City Council Facebook and Twitter. Join us for Q&A via Facebook live with our Mayor and Chief Executive. Copies of the consultation document will be available at our facilities.

Recycling:

• Recycling crates are too small, requiring community recycling stations to take the overflow.
• Illegal dumping at recycling stations causes contamination, which is costly to remove.
• Litter is often sent flying on windy days. It can get into our stormwater systems and lead to ocean and beach pollution.
• It is not a full cost service. Users are expected to pay for their own crates and nets

Rubbish:

• There are many health and safety risks for the people who collect rubbish bags.
• Increasing costs of bags could lead to more illegal rubbish dumping.
• Bags are prone to ‘animal strike’, e.g. damage from rats, dogs and cats.
• The market is increasingly moving towards collection models with bins.

• Increased recycling: Bigger recycling bins means that households can recycle more.
• Reducing wind-blown litter: The new recycling wheelie bins (and rubbish bins) will have lid-latches to avoid recyclables becoming litter, especially on windy days.
• Protecting the value of recyclable materials: Bins with lids would protect recyclables from rain, and by collecting glass separately we can protect the value of other recyclables, especially paper and cardboard.
• Safer: Changing from rubbish bags to wheelie bins for rubbish will improve health and safety for rubbish collection operators by reducing injuries.

• Recycling: A wheelie bin for recycling and a crate or wheelie bin for glass, collected every fortnight. 
• Rubbish: A wheelie bin for rubbish (this would apply regardless of the frequency of the collection, and whether or not the service was funded by a targeted rate or user charge). 
• Green (garden) waste: A wheelie bin service for garden waste, for people who want it. This would be collected every four weeks. If you opt into this there will be a charge for it. 

Your feedback will shape what final decisions are made.

We expect that by 1 July 2021 every household in our city will be using the new system. We will keep you updated on progress. Check out the timeline for key dates.

A new system for rubbish and recycling for our whole city is a big job. After the decision is made we will be working on getting everything we need organised to roll out the new services. This includes the selected service providers purchasing new trucks and rolling out the new bins.

We worked with waste management specialists on a strategic review and business case that looked at all aspects of Lower Hutt’s waste management system. The Kerbside collections business case recommends a number of options for change.

Because of the problems experienced with the rubbish bag collection service, including health and safety risks for the people who collect rubbish bags and the risk of damage from animals, Council will not be continuing a rubbish service using rubbish bags.

No. If a rates funded option is selected, property owners would pay for the service through rates, and the bins would be provided as part of this. 

If a user pays option is selected, the cost of the bins would be included in the cost of the service.

This all depends on which option is chosen and approved by Council. This decision will be informed by your feedback, so make sure you have your say. 

The advice we’ve received during our review of the crate-based recycling service is that the cost of offering the service is expected to increase to an estimated $116 per annum from July 2021. This is largely due to higher processing costs, changing market values for recyclables and less efficient manual collection methods. As a result we’ve looked at other options.

Residents currently pay for recycling via a targeted rate for recycling (currently $40 per property but, as of 1 July 2021, a proposed $105 per property), and rubbish collection is paid by using pre-paid Council rubbish bags or by paying a private bin collection service provider. 

To compare the costs of what you currently pay with the different proposed options, go to our rubbish and recycling cost calculator.

For rubbish, one of the options is ‘pay as you throw’. Actual costs to households would depend on how frequently the bin was emptied and on sufficient numbers of households taking this up to make it a viable option.

Yes, if one of the rates funded options (option 1 or 3) is chosen, then a household could still use a private operator, but there would be no rates refund.

Council’s proposals include an opt-in service for green waste. 

There would be a charge for this service and it would be collected every four weeks.

Households would only pay for this service if they choose to opt-in. The green waste bin would only be available for garden waste, not food waste.

If this option is approved then you would need to tell us by 31 March each year if you want to use the service.

The cost of the green waste service would be added to your rates and is estimated at $95 per property/year.

We're asking you for your preferred option because it could impact your rates. Depending on the option that is chosen and approved by Council, the rubbish collection might be rates funded. 

If a wheelie bin option is approved by Council, you'll likely be able to choose what size bin you want for rubbish: 80-litres, 120-litres or 240-litres. The cost would depend on the size of the bin. 

Depending on which option is selected this bin could replace Council’s existing weekly rubbish bag collection service or replace your private bin collection service.

As part of the recycling change, we’re also considering making this service free to the 200 or so schools, early childhood centres and kōhanga reo in our city. 

This would mean that the cost of providing free services to schools could be spread across ratepayers. Based on information from a neighbouring council that has implemented this practice, the cost (if funded by households) would be less than $2 per annum. No decision will be made until next year’s Long Term Plan process.

We could offer an alternative collection service with 660-litre bins, providing the bins can be kept in a dedicated waste management area on the property.

We'll need to carry out an assessment during the implementation phase, to find the right option for each property.

Wheelie bins can be challenging for people with disabilities. A subsidised wheel-in and wheel-out service could be offered. This could be subject to qualifying criteria like having a mobility permit.

We're exploring a couple of options for residents in this situation.  You might be able to use a tow-bar attachment to move the bins. If this isn't possible, storing the bins closer to the road could be an option.

The normal collection trucks can't be used on some of our narrow rural roads for road safety reasons. This is already the case along Wainuiomata Coast Road.

For these roads, we would need to provide an alternative collection service that could include things like:

• a dedicated drop-off point (potentially lockable) with larger 660-litre bins close to the affected properties
• using smaller non-standard collection vehicles that can use individual driveways.

We'll need to do an assessment during the implementation phase to find the most appropriate option.

A rates-funded rubbish collection service as per options 1 and 3 would be paid for by the landlord as part of the property’s rates. In our communications we will give everyone plenty of notice of any change. We will encourage landlords and tenants to talk about their requirements and to select an appropriate bin size.

The different bins could be collected on alternate weeks, which means they wouldn't all be on the kerbside at the same time. 

For example, if recycling and rubbish collection are both fortnightly, the recycling bin and crate for glass would be put out in one week, and the rubbish bin would be put out the next week.

We know that for some houses like those with shared driveways, flats down a right of way, or cul-de-sacs, kerbside space may be shared by many bins. We would need to do more work to identify these areas and provide solutions.

A standard 120-litre wheelie bin usually weighs less than 10kg. Its useful life is estimated at 15 years.

A standard Council 60-litre rubbish bag is made of 0.0272kg of plastic.

Over 15 years you would need 1,560 rubbish bags (weighing about 42kg in total of plastic) to deliver the same rubbish capacity as a 120-litre bin.

We expect that private service providers will redeploy the bins that are in good working order to other locations. This would also delay the need for them to purchase new bins.

Most service providers operate in other places across our region and NZ. They often offer residential as well as commercial services.

The current kerbside collection system contributes to carbon emissions in many ways – such as through the fuel used for powering the trucks during operation. In order to reduce emissions, our future service could be operated using battery-electric rubbish trucks. By implementing a rates-funded bin available to all households, we can also reduce the number of collection trucks working on Lower Hutt’s roads.

By introducing a more effective recycling collection system, valuable resources can be kept in circulation for longer, saving energy and carbon emissions associated with the making of products.

An opt-in service for green (garden) waste is likely to reduce green waste going to Silverstream Landfill (and associated methane emissions). Currently at least some green waste is disposed of via the normal rubbish collection.

Our tender for kerbside services includes an objective for companies to operate services with electric rubbish trucks and demonstrate how they intend to reduce their emissions during the duration of the contract.