Facing the rubbish problem head on
New Zealand (including our district) is facing some massive challenges with how we manage our rubbish and recycling.
We’re getting to a crunch point that is going to mean some big cost increases over the next few years.
This is a massive, complex issue – you can read more about it in our Long Term Plan or on our website, but in a nutshell:
- Offshore markets are no longer accepting recyclables. This means Councils around the country are all facing much higher costs just to deliver our current services.
- Government is working towards a more sustainable future, but they are funding these positive changes by increasing the Waste Disposal Levy (the tax on sending stuff to landfill), and the Emissions Trading Scheme (carbon tax) – these increases are driving up the cost of kerbside collections.
- There is a drive from the waste industry and local government to standardise kerbside collections across the country to simplify collections and processing. This would be an improvement on our existing kerbside collection service – but that improvement comes at a cost.
Like we said, it’s complicated. There are lots of factors driving up costs in this space, and some of them, we have little to no control over. But on top of that, we want to do the right thing. We want to be a community that is committed to minimising waste sent to landfill. A community that considers and implements new initiatives and innovative ways to reduce, reuse and recycle waste. And we want to minimise harm to our environment.
What you’ve already told us
In 2020 we asked for some direction from the community on what the future of our rubbish and recycling services should be.
The challenge
Rubbish bags are no longer a good long term option - there are health and safety issues around the manual handling/weight of bags, they get ripped open by animals; and the bags themselves are another item in landfill.
What we asked
Would you rather have:
- A small (80L) wheelie bin for rubbish, collected weekly. Funded through rates.
- No Council rubbish collection (people take their own rubbish to the transfer station or arrange private collection)
What you said
The challenge
Recycling the way we do now is not working well. We need to make changes to ensure what is collected, is being repurposed and diverted from landfill.
What we asked
Would you rather have:
- Three rates funded collection crates or multi-compartment wheelie bins for cardboard, plastics, tin and glass.
- No Council recycling collection (people take their own recycling to the transfer station or arrange private collection)
What you told us
The challenge
Transfer stations don’t encourage rubbish reduction but resource recovery centres do. These centres are community facilities where you can drop off unwanted items and materials for reuse and recycling – diverting them from landfill.
What we asked
Would you rather have:
- Develop resource recovery centres in Matamata and/or Morrinsville, and close the Waihou Transfer Station
- Develop resource recovery centres in Matamata and/or Morrinsville, and maintain the Waihou Transfer Station
What you told us
The challenge
Food waste makes up approximately 30% of what is thrown into our rubbish bags and bins - this is waste that could easily be diverted from landfill.
What we asked
Would you rather have:
Would you support a food scraps bin, collected weekly for fruit, vegetables cooked food, meat, fish and coffee grounds etc.
What you told us
The challenge
The Tirohia landfill is due to close in 2038.
What we asked
Do you support our vision to become a zero-waste community by 2038 when the Tirohia landfill is due to close?
What you told us
The end of the current contract is the best timing to make changes to this service, so we’d like to leave things mostly as they are until then – but we’ll still need to cover increasing costs in the meantime.
Kerbside collections
What’s in the draft budget – changing kerbside collections from 2023
Our rubbish and recycling collection contract comes to an end in 2023. We know we need to make changes to address the challenges above, and to encourage people to reduce their waste.
Based on the community feedback and the challenges we’re facing, we think the best option is to change the service in 2023 to:
- wheelie bins for rubbish (collected weekly or fortnightly) – this means everyone who receives the service would pay a fixed amount in their rates, instead of buying rubbish bags
- A recycling wheelie bin or multiple crates (collected weekly or fortnightly)
- A food waste bin (potentially with an option for residents to opt-in to this service)
While a majority of people did not support the option of providing a food waste bin when we sought feedback on this in 2020, 35% of waste sent to landfill in our district is food scraps, and that’s a significant amount of waste that could be diverted from landfill.
A food scraps bin is also part of the standardisation of the kerbside service that is being pushed across the country. So even though this option wasn’t widely supported, we think it makes sense to include this as part of the review of our contract to divert more from landfill and avoid costly contract variations at a later date.
The exact details of what we would provide (e.g. the number and size of bins, or types of bins, or the collection cycle) would all be determined as part of the tender process to select a new contractor.
What will it cost?
Currently those who receive this service pay $41 in their rates per year, plus $3 per bag for their rubbish bags ($156 per year if you buy one bag per week).
We’re proposing to increase the targeted rate to $131 per year in 2021/22 to help cover the increasing costs of this service (see the challenges explained above) and residents would continue to buy rubbish bags. The current rubbish and recycling service would still continue until 2023 – this increase is just to cover the rising costs, so we can pay the bill.
The rubbish and recycling rate would then increase again in 2023 to around $328 per year to cover the costs of the new service. While this is a big jump, residents would no longer need to buy rubbish bags ($156 if you buy one bag per week) - so the money you’d usually spend on these at the supermarket would go towards your rates instead. You would also receive a food waste collection.
All households eligible for the kerbside collection service would be charged this targeted rate – regardless of whether or not they choose to use the service. This means anyone using a private collection service may decide not to continue with this, depending on their needs. We won’t be able to confirm the exact costs of this option until we’ve gone through a tender process for a new contract so we’ve based our budgeting on similar changes in other areas and expert advice.
These increases are the big drivers behind the 'spikes' in projected rates in years one and three of this plan. See the 'how does it all add up' section for more information.
| Rates impact | Kerbside rubbish collection | Kerbside recycling collection | Food waste collection | Annual Total |
| What you currently pay (up to 30 June 2021) | MPDC official rubbish bags, collected weekly | Wheelie bin + crate, collected fortnightly | Not provided | $197 Total for rubbish & recycling combined (if using 1 rubbish bag per week) |
|
$3 per rubbish bag $41 targeted rate per year |
||||
| What you would pay 1 July 2021 (Year 1 of this plan) | MPDC official rubbish bags, collected weekly (same as above) | Wheelie bin + crate, collected fortnightly (same as above) | Not provided | $287 Total for rubbish & recycling combined (if using 1 rubbish bag per week) |
|
$3 per rubbish bag $131 targeted rate per year |
||||
| Proposed system from 2023 onwards, when new contract starts (Year 3 of this plan) |
80L wheelie bin collected weekly $149 targeted rate per year |
3 crates, collected weekly $107 targeted rate per year |
Food waste bin, collected weekly $74 targeted rate per year |
$330 |
| Debt impact - no impact on our debt | ||||
What you currently pay (up to 30 June 2021)
| Kerbside rubbish collection |
|---|
| MPDC official rubbish bags, collected weekly
$3 per rubbish bag $41 targeted rate per year |
| Kerbside recycling collection |
| Wheelie bin + crate, collected fortnightly |
| Food waste collection |
| Not provided |
| Annual Total |
| $197 Total for rubbish & recycling combined (if using 1 rubbish bag per week) |
What you would pay 1 July 2021 (Year 1 of this plan)
| Kerbside rubbish collection |
|---|
| MPDC official rubbish bags, collected weekly (same as above)
$3 per rubbish bag $131 targeted rate per year |
| Kerbside recycling collection |
| Wheelie bin + crate, collected fortnightly (same as above) |
| Food waste collection |
| Not provided |
| Annual Total |
| $287 Total for rubbish & recycling combined (if using 1 rubbish bag per week) |
Proposed system from 2023 onwards, when new contract starts (Year 3 of this plan)
| Kerbside rubbish collection |
|---|
| 80L wheelie bin collected weekly
$149 targeted rate per year |
| Kerbside recycling collection |
| 3 crates, collected weekly
$107 targeted rate per year |
| Food waste collection |
| Food waste bin, collected weekly
$74 targeted rate per year |
| Annual Total |
| $330 |
Another option - Dump it all together
We could stop providing kerbside collections, or just provide a very limited service (like recycling only). Given all the challenges we’re facing, this is a tempting option – but the easy option is rarely ever the best one:
People would have to arrange their own private collections, and many private operators don’t collect and process recyclables. So this option would likely result in more waste going to landfill. This doesn’t help achieve national targets or our own zero waste 2038 goal, if our community indicates they would prefer this option further consultation would be required.
This option would result in more rubbish trucks, from more providers on the road, increasing carbon emissions.
Because of the size of the kerbside collection contract, we can get a better rate than most individuals. So it’s likely that the proposed rates increase, while a lot, is still less than arranging the same service privately.
What would this option cost?
This option would mean that residents would then need to arrange and pay for their own rubbish collection/disposal. Based on current market prices this would cost around $342, although prices would vary between waste companies. We couldnt do this option until year three when our current contract runs out so costs for 2021/22 and 2022/23 would still be the same as the preferred option.
| Rates impact | |
| $550,000 urban property | $287 less in rates from 2023/24 |
|
$8 million rural property (not serviced) |
No impact |
| Debt impact - no impact on debt | |
Why keeping doing what we’re doing isn’t an option
- The current system doesn’t help people to recycle well or minimise their waste, so doesn’t align with national targets or our zero waste for 2038 goal.
- You clearly told us in 2020 that you’d like a better service.
- It’s likely our current service won’t meet the future national standards for kerbside collection.
- There are health and safety issues associated with manual pick-up of rubbish bags, and they can also contribute to litter on our streets due to high winds or animals.
Resource Recovery Centres
What’s in the draft budget - establish two resource recovery centres
We currently offer drop-off facilities at three Transfer Stations in the district, however, we think these need an overhaul to not just transfer waste from A to B, but to divert waste from landfill. We completed an analysis of what kind of waste is sent to landfills and found that approximately 53% of material could be recycled or reused. So we would like to make improvements to two transfer stations, and build a new, purpose built hub (which also processes waste from the other two locations) to focus on ‘Resource Recovery’. This could include services like an op-shop, a rural recycling collection point, or the salvage of clothing, building materials and so on that would otherwise end up in landfill.
Te Aroha - In 2020 we proposed to close the Te Aroha Transfer Station, to be able to invest the money into Matamata and Morrinsville. However, the community clearly told us that you want the transfer station to remain open. So we have budgeted $528,000 in 2023/24 to upgrade the existing Transfer Station to improve its functionality and meet Health and Safety requirements. Waste from Te Aroha would be transported to Matamata for sorting and resource recovery.
Matamata - We have budgeted $4.2 million in Matamata in 2023/24, to set up a purpose built ‘Resource Recovery Centre.’ As well as diverting more waste from landfill, a purpose built facility would also resolve traffic safety concerns and other operational issues at the existing Matamata Transfer station.
Morrinsville - We have budgeted $2.2 million in 2024/25 to set up a Resource Recovery Centre on a smaller scale where we would offer some of the services that Matamata has, at the existing location.
What would this option cost?
These proposals would cost $6.9 million, however, the costs to operate these sites would also increase to around $1.4 million per year (currently $1.17 million). This also excludes the cost of disposing of waste to landfill (currently $569,000 including transport).
The whole community benefits from these facilities, as they are open to everyone - so we are proposing to fund them from general rates and fees and charges (the fees at the gate to drop off rubbish or recycling).
| Rates impact Average per year | 2023/24 - 2030/31 |
| $550,000 urban property | $50.74 |
|
$8 million rural property |
$738.08 |
| Debt impact - increase by $6.9 million by 2024/25 including inflation | |
Another option - Put resource recovery centres in all three towns
Instead of building a ‘district hub’ for resource recovery, we could make improvements at all three transfer stations so each town has exactly the same services.
While this might be ‘fairer’, it would be significantly more expensive, and would likely result in the same amount of waste being diverted from landfill (it would just be sorted in three places, instead of one).
What would this option cost?
We estimate this would cost approximately $9.5 million, with a third each being spent on Matamata, Morrinsville and Te Aroha.
| Rates impact Average per year | 2022/23 - 2030/31 |
| $550,000 urban property | $77.66 |
|
$8 million rural property |
$1,129.59 |
| Debt impact - increase by $9.5 million by 2024/25 including inflation | |
Another option - Dump the idea
We could keep doing what we're doing - providing a drop off point for rubbish and recycling. This option costs less, but it means lots of waste is going to landfill that could be reused or repurposed.
What would this option cost?
Not proceeding would avoid the costs, rates and debt impact that have been included in the draft budget.
Another option - It's a good idea - just not yet
If you want to see the rates increases lower than our projections, then we could defer this project e.g. push out the timeline by 5 years. This would still be a positive step towards our zero waste 2038 target, but wouldn’t address the problems we currently have at our transfer stations (like traffic safety and health and safety), and would also mean lots of unnecessary waste goes to landfill in the meantime. It’s also ‘kicking the can down the road’ – a rates increase in five years’ time will still be unappealing.
What would this option cost?
Because of inflation we estimated this to cost $7.9 million.
| Rates impact Average per year | 2028/29 - 2030/31 |
| $550,000 urban property | $50.42 |
|
$8 million rural property |
$733.32 |
| Debt impact - increase by $7.9 million by 2030/31 including inflation | |
