Te para me te hangarua | Rubbish and recycling

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Council made a decision on rubbish and recycling on 15 September. View the meeting agendaFor more information go to hutt.city/binchanges.

Kia ora, thanks for joining the conversation. We have some options to make kerbside rubbish and recycling better in Lower Hutt, and we want to know what you think.

You may remember we asked you about waste earlier in the year. We listened to your feedback and are now proposing four options for kerbside rubbish collection, and a solution for recycling and green waste.

It’s important you feel informed about what these options will mean for your household.

On this site you’ll find information about how we got here, details about the collection options and how they may affect your rates. We've also put together some frequently asked questions, and if you want to know the full details - check out the key documents.

Have your sayOnce you're ready, tell us which option you prefer. Simply go to the feedback form and have your say.

What happens nextCouncil will meet on 15 September 2020 and will use your feedback to help make a decision on which option we'll go with. We’re aiming for the new system to be in place by 1 July 2021.

Kia ora, thanks for joining the conversation. We have some options to make kerbside rubbish and recycling better in Lower Hutt, and we want to know what you think.

You may remember we asked you about waste earlier in the year. We listened to your feedback and are now proposing four options for kerbside rubbish collection, and a solution for recycling and green waste.

It’s important you feel informed about what these options will mean for your household.

On this site you’ll find information about how we got here, details about the collection options and how they may affect your rates. We've also put together some frequently asked questions, and if you want to know the full details - check out the key documents.

Have your sayOnce you're ready, tell us which option you prefer. Simply go to the feedback form and have your say.

What happens nextCouncil will meet on 15 September 2020 and will use your feedback to help make a decision on which option we'll go with. We’re aiming for the new system to be in place by 1 July 2021.

Council made a decision on rubbish and recycling on 15 September. View the meeting agendaFor more information go to hutt.city/binchanges.

Have you got a question that wasn't answered in our FAQs? Ask us here and our team will get back to you. Scroll down to see questions from others in our community. 

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    Why is green waste not treated as normal waste pickup?

    John asked over 3 years ago

    Kia ora John. Green waste is biodegradable and can be processed for re-use.

    Green waste like lawn clippings or tree branches takes up valuable space already in the landfill. This sort of material is easily compostable and wherever possible should be diverted from simply being thrown away.

    Households would only pay for the green waste 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.

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    will bags still be an option for townhouse/apartment residents who have nowhere to store a wheelie bin?

    . asked over 3 years ago

    Hi. Thanks for using Have Your Say.
    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.

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    What about High populated houses which already use a 240L a week. Under this current proposal, the council isn't offering a viable solution and the closest is half the capacity of the current free market that is already utilized.

    Jeremy asked over 3 years ago

    Kia ora Jeremy. Thanks for using Have Your Say. 

    Both Option 1 and Option 3 offer a range of bin sizes to meet household needs. Either a 240-litre, 120-litre, or 80-litre bin could be selected. Bin sizes would need to be selected by 31 March each year because of the way rates are set.

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    From previous online surveys, what proportion of households have a 240 lite bin collected weekly? Why is that not one of the options being consulted on?

    Max Shierlaw asked over 3 years ago

    Kia ora Max. Thanks for using Have Your Say.

    We’re assuming you’re talking about a 240-litre bin for rubbish collection. This is part of Option 3– an 80-litre, or 120-litre or 240-litre bin could be selected for weekly collection. The size of bin would have to be selected by 31 March each year because of the way rates are set. Please take a look at the Rubbish and recycling cost calculator to work out the estimated costs for the different bin sizes.

    More than 4,600 people completed our Korero Mai | Talk with us survey between 18 December 2019 and Wednesday 22 January 2020. Most respondents (82%) were Lower Hutt residents. Of the 3,737 residents (the 82%), a total of 66% of respondents used a private wheelie bin service. Of those households, 49% used a 240-litre rubbish bin.

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    Are tenants under this purposal then subject to the will of the landlord who would by default select the smallest option? Is this not going to result in rubbish pilling up? User pays seems like a more appropriate way to manage this as doesn't the tenant better know their requirements?

    Jeremy asked over 3 years ago

    Hi Jeremy. We will encourage landlords and tenants to talk about their requirements and to select an appropriate bin size. We are aware that some landlords currently supply large wheelie bins to their tenants, in order to avoid the situation of rubbish piling up.

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    Thanks for your answer to my questions, but I would like some further information regarding funding options. The option offered are either PAYT or a UAC. I noted that UAC are regressive and provide no incentive for behavioural change. You did not address this point in your response, but replied that a proportionate charge on the rates was not considered as "there is no clear link between property values and the amount of waste produced". As I noted this argument applies equally to a UAC yet that is what is being proposed. Whether the objective is to provide a financial incentive to reduce waste or to provide socially equitable funding, a UAC fails to address either. It's only advantage is the ease of administration and it seems HCC is preferencing this over its stated objectives. Would you please provide (via links to relevant docs if necessary) the reasoning behind the choice of UAC as an appropriate funding vehicle for rubbish collection/disposal. Thank You.

    PeteM asked over 3 years ago

    The charges in relation to Option 1 and Option 3 are dependent on the bin size chosen - for individual household requirements. Therefore, the different charges corresponding to bin size do offer some economic incentive for behaviour change, such as reducing waste.

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    Are we not able to entertain a solution that doesn't involve destroying a current business. looking on the streets everyone has converted to Redbins as they are best value and most reliable, which the council has had problems with in the past. Is it worth the council interfering in something already functioning as intended because of recycling which isn't currently being recycled anyway?

    Jeremy asked over 3 years ago

    Hi Jeremy. Thanks for using Have Your Say. As part of its review process, Council identified four options that it is now consulting the community on. In rubbish collection Option 2 and Option 4, those households that have existing agreements with relevant service providers could continue with those. If you have not already done so, please let us know what you think in the feedback form. Council will make decisions in mid-September.

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    So for the small crates for glass recycling, are you going to take away the current crates we have for recycling, and replace them with a new one that says GLASS on it? Will you recycle all those old ones to create the new ones? Will the nets still fit on them?

    Donna asked over 3 years ago

    Kia ora Donna. Thanks for using Have Your Say. Following Council decisions in mid-September, officers would finalise contract negotiations with the preferred supplier that submitted to the recycling collection service tender, and would confirm the implementation approach. It appears possible that crates that are already in place could be repurposed for glass only, but we won’t be able to confirm this until after the procurement process is formally complete. In that scenario, those properties that do not currently have a crate or where the crate is no longer fit for purpose (eg, broken) would be supplied with a new crate.

    With regard to the flexi-nets, it’s unlikely that nets would be necessary as crates would only be used for glass in the future. Glass materials are heavy and bulky, so they’re less likely to ‘fly out’ like paper or plastic materials do now.

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    The Council's preferred option for rubbish is a fortnightly collection funded through a Universal Annual Charge (UAC) ie cost per property. The Council’s consultation document shows that this is the only option that has two negative outcomes (p10), and the Morrison Low analysis rejected this option prior to economic analysis (table 1). Why is the council then pushing this option? UACs are a fundamentally flawed funding option. They are acknowledged to be regressive, and remove any financial incentive for behavioural change. In this case waste minmisation. If PAYT is considered to have to high a risk of perverse outcomes, was a proportionate charge based on property value considered instead, and if not, why not?

    PeteM asked over 3 years ago

    Kia ora Pete. Thanks for using Have Your Say. The business case did not include a fortnightly rates-funded rubbish bin as a shortlisted option. However, this was added to the options presented to Council following feedback from Council’s Corporate Leadership Team based on overseas experience and considering that a separate green waste collection reduces the need for weekly refuse collection.

    With regard to the targeted rate for recycling, and potentially rubbish if option 1 or 3 are chosen, a proportionate charge based on property value was not considered, as there is no clear link between property values and the amount of waste produced in the associated household.

    It is likely that small households, or those that minimise waste, recycle and divert green waste, have a reduced need for waste collection. Therefore, Council’s (rates-funded rubbish bin) proposals include the ability of households to choose the size of bin that suits their needs (corresponding with the associated cost of a smaller or larger bin).

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    Hi I am curious as to why the Councils Tender for 'Waste Collection Services Procurement' has already closed, is this not what we are being consulted on at the moment? I note in regards to 'Refuse', the Tender 'overview' refers only to the 'Councils preferred option' Option1. Why are Options 2 and 3 not mentioned or included in the Tender process? https://www.gets.govt.nz/HCC/ExternalTenderDetails.htm?id=22332608

    Tom asked over 3 years ago

    Kia ora Tom. Thanks for using Have Your Say. The procurement process for the new recycling and rubbish collections options is being run in parallel, albeit decisions on a preferred supplier are not made until after Council has made decisions on its preferred collection methodology. Depending on Council decisions, officers would finalise contract negotiations with the preferred supplier that submitted the associated collection service tenders. If Council were to opt for option 4, then none of the tendered rubbish collection tenders would be taken forward.

    The detailed Request for Proposal on GETS enabled suppliers to bid on any of the recycling and/or rubbish collection options 1, 2 and 3 (fortnightly rates-funded, PAYT, and also weekly rates-funded). For example, suppliers were able to submit a tender for PAYT or rates-funded refuse collection, or both. Note that you have to log into GETS in order to view the detailed tender documentation; the overview only provides a high level summary.