Residents raise fresh concerns with Tauranga City Council's new rubbish bins

Residents are concerned about insufficient kerb space for the new council rubbish bins; Alwyn O'Connor (left), Sabrina Taing, Helen O'Connor and Sean Kennedy. Photo / George Novak

How to fit 16 - or more - bins into 3.6m of kerb space.

That's the quandary facing residents in a Pyes Pa cul-de-sac with the start of the new Tauranga City Council kerbside rubbish collection service this week.

And across town in Pāpāmoa, a retirement village resident fears the sheer size of some bins are "an accident waiting to happen".

The bins have been delivered to 55,000 Tauranga households ahead of the service starting on Thursday.

Helen O'Connor, 75, lives at the end of a cul-de-sac in Pyes Pa and was concerned the closest kerb did not have enough space for all the bins.

"Eight households have precisely 3.6 metres of kerb to take 16 bins on any given collection day - more if others opt for green waste collection ... there is possibly room for only a quarter of the bins at the kerb."

Helen O'Connor said everyone who lives in a cul-de-sac situation will face the problem of insufficient kerb space with the new council bins. Photo / George Novak

O'Connor raised the issue with the council at a home show and by phone but believed the responses were "inadequate".

"There is an expectation people will wheel their bins up to 50m to find free space."

Return trips for three bins could amount to 600m of walking and residents still may not find clear kerb space, O'Connor said.

"By requiring us to take our bins a considerable distance along the road to find free kerb space, we're to become volunteer sub-contractors to the city council."

The other solution offered by the council was "wait and see on the day", she said.

Sandy Houltram, 68, lives at the end of a different Pyes Pa cul-de-sac and shared O'Connor's concerns about kerb space.

"At the moment, [our] neighbours put out four great big rubbish bags a week. I can't see how they're going to just fill one bin."

Residents who were unable to take their bins to the kerbside, such as the elderly or those with a physical disability, are able to apply for the council's free-of-charge assisted service.

Pāpāmoa resident Sue Hatchwell compares the size of her current bins with the council's new bins. Photo / supplied

Sue Hatchwell, 71, lives in a retirement village in Pāpāmoa.

She said a "huge issue" with the new bins was their size, "especially when trying to take the bins out to their kerbside, namely for the fear of tripping and falling".

"I was totally horrified when the new bins were delivered. The size of the red and most importantly yellow bin is absolutely ridiculous for all residents to handle let alone those living in a retirement village."

She said many village residents shared her concerns.

"A lot of people in the village here are late-80s ... the health and safety issue of these huge bins for older people is ridiculous. It's an accident waiting to happen really."

Hatchwell worried that elderly residents would lose their balance taking the bins out, as a lot of their driveways were on a slight slope.

Hatchwell also saw the funny side of it.

"We had visions of them taking their bins out and they'd just fall into them. If there are any missing residents in the village, we'll just go look in their yellow bin."

The new Tauranga City Council rubbish bin and recycling bin line-up. Photo / George Novak

Tauranga City Council sustainability and waste manager Sam Fellows said the council was working with people who considered the new kerbside service unsuitable.

"We appreciate that some residents with no space directly at the end of their driveway may have to wheel their bins a little further on collection day and we are looking into ways to alleviate these situations."

After the first year of the service, households can change the sizes of their bins, with smaller bins costing less than larger bins.

"Feedback from other councils is that it's best to roll out the service with the standard size bins for the first year, before introducing the different bin size option and costs," Fellows said.

New service: What you need to know

• The new kerbside service starts on July 1. You can start putting food scraps, rubbish and recycling into your new bins a week or two before your first collections in July.

• Food scraps will be collected weekly and everything else fortnightly.

• Council rubbish bags will no longer be collected from the kerbside from July 1. If you have extra rubbish you can now take generic 60l rubbish bags to the transfer station for $3.50 per bag. If you have leftover pre-paid council bags you can also use these and dispose of them at the transfer station free of charge.

• Maleme St Transfer Station will close to the public on August 2 leaving only the Te Maunga at Mount Maunganui, which will be upgraded.