Maleme Street Transfer Station. Photo / George Novak
The closure of a popular Tauranga waste and recycling facility that has been leaching pollution into stormwater drains could spark an increase in illegal rubbish dumpings, a concerned resident fears.
However, the council says it does not expect to see any significant change in illegal dumping as a result of the change.
The closure of Maleme Street Transfer Station to the public comes as part of a $20.5 million overhaul to the city's waste services which will also see a new facility built as part of a major upgrade to the Te Maunga Transfer Station.
Minister for the Environment David Parker announced the project in Tauranga yesterday, saying it would support essential waste infrastructure projects in Tauranga that also served the broader Bay of Plenty region.
"By reducing the amount of material, especially organics, fibre and construction waste, transported to landfill, we greatly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions created from waste in the region."
No jobs were expected to be lost and the transfer station would remain open to contractors and account holders.
Council sustainability and waste manager Sam Fellows said about $8.1m of the funding would help the council buy and recycle existing bins from current waste collection operators, whose services would become redundant from July.
The money would also help fund a major upgrade to the Te Maunga Transfer Station, transforming it into a resource recovery park. The site is expected to include a $10.5m construction and demolition plant.
The remainder would go towards a material recycling facility on Truman Lane, next to the Te Maunga Transfer Station. This will use automated optical sorting equipment for grading different plastics.
Fellows said the government funding meant the cost of kerbside waste collections would now be $210 for residents in the first year, not $230 as originally planned. The cost includes GST and the current annual charge of $37.34 for glass recycling.
Upgrades to the Te Maunga Transfer Station are expected to cost $14.5m, with $3m covered by the station's income. These would start later this year and people would still be able to access the facility during the upgrade.
Fellows said closing Maleme St station to the public was the "most favoured outcome" and it was no longer financially viable to keep it open to the public.
"This is because the Maleme St Transfer Station is located on a low-lying site, which is prone to flooding. This has led to an unacceptable level of contaminants, mostly from vehicles, entering stormwater drains. Contaminated stormwater affects our natural waterways, disturbing animal and plant life."
Copper and zinc were the main contaminants that had been washing into the stormwater drain and people's vehicles - specifically tyres and brake pads - were considered to be the main source of this, Fellows said.
"Because the contaminants are mainly from vehicles using the recycling and garden waste areas, if fewer vehicles are accessing the transfer station this will lead to less contaminants."
Fellows said the transfer station was built more than 20 years ago and was not designed to cater for the high volume of traffic it now received. The number of people using Tauranga's recycling centres at each transfer station was double the number of users for general rubbish and garden waste drop-off.
This included households from the Western Bay of Plenty who also used Tauranga's two transfer stations due to the district not having one of its own, Fellows said.
"As our city continues to grow, the pressure on the transfer station and subsequently, our stormwater system, increases. The site currently has an abatement notice for not meeting its stormwater consent requirements."
Fellows said the closure would be disappointing to some people but it was expected the new kerbside recycling service would prevent the need for most trips to a transfer station.
Lakes resident Matthew Gill said the kerbside service meant he was likely going to have more waste than what the bins allowed "and the Maleme St station was a good option for that".
"Now we will be having to drive all the way to Te Maunga. It's going to be a major while they are upgrading it as well."
Gill said he had heard a lot of feedback from people in the western suburbs who felt frustration at Maleme St station's closure.
"I can see a lot more people dumping rubbish after all of this," Gill said.
Sustainable Bay of Plenty's Glen Crowther said the extra funding was welcome, given the proposed 20 per cent rates rise for Tauranga residents.
"I think it's a move in the right direction."
Despite welcoming the Te Maunga Transfer Station upgrade, he was concerned about the loss of Maleme St.
Not everyone would have their waste needs met every week through the new kerbside service, Crowther said.
"There will still be a lot of people... who won't be able to squeeze it all in and they will still want to use a transfer station so they will travel all the way to Te Maunga which will only make it worse in terms of congestion and carbon emissions.
"I think we should pull out all the stops to see if Maleme St can remain."
Environmental advocate Josh Cole said there were "massive opportunities" for businesses to look at ways to use waste by reusing or recycling.
"Gone are the days when we can rely on landfills and other countries to take our recycling," he said.
Cole said his biggest concern was a potential fear of change.
"Tauranga is no longer a small town. We now have big city issues and waste is just one of them but it is also a big opportunity."
Council commission chairwoman Anne Tolley welcomed the funding, saying Tauranga sent "far more waste to landfill than is necessary".
"The funding will not only help us improve our performance, it is also helping us deliver vital local infrastructure made possible through the Government's investment in capital costs."
Fellows said in response to the concerns at a potential increase in rubbish dumping that it was "not expected that there will be any significant change in illegal dumping behaviour".
"If anything, there should be a positive effect because everyone will be paying for a kerbside collection service and there would therefore be no incentive to take their rubbish somewhere else to dump it."
- Additional reporting Samantha Motion
Western Bay of Plenty District could have fewer councillors to vote for next election.