KEY POINTS:
The Auckland City Council is studying what people are throwing out in the inorganic rubbish collections to see how much could be sold or reused.
The council's manager of environmental infrastructure, Rennae Corner, said the information would be useful in considering whether to set up a resource recovery park, where discarded items would be available for re-use or resale.
Such parks are running in places such as Hamilton, Porirua and Christchurch.
Mrs Corner said a problem at present was scavengers stripping metal out of objects such as stoves before they could be shifted away and possibly resold.
Problems with the inorganic collections turning the streets into rubbish dumps were highlighted in the Herald yesterday, particularly a mountain of trash stacked up along Bollard Ave in Owairaka.
Resident Ora Pellett said the rubbish had been piling up for the past fortnight, so she was relieved the council had it removed yesterday morning.
"They were here at 6am ... They have done a good job. It's amazing what they have managed to get rid of."
Other Aucklanders emailed the Herald with their gripes, including a Hillsborough man, who did not want to be named, who said thieves were operating on the streets where organic rubbish was put out for collection.
"It gives them an excuse to be there and help themselves ... People have had their garden gnomes taken, stereos taken out of cars and aerials snapped."
Comments sent into the Herald included:
* Inorganic collections are a good idea but the practice leaves a lot to be desired.
* Out-of-town dumpers take advantage.
* Traffic hazards caused by people parking on narrow roads to go through the rubbish.
* Can't walk on footpath on some streets due to the amount of dumped material.
* Scavengers leave rubbish strewn abouts.
* An invaluable service for those who don't have access to a trailer.
* Cuts down on what goes in landfill.
* An essential service, one of the few useful ones councils provide.
Meanwhile, several waste recycle systems are already up and running. Claire Sawyers, director of DonateNZ, said her organisation ran a website where items no longer wanted could be matched to community organisations seeking them, like schools and playcentres. Miss Sawyers said it was launched in February 2006 and in the past year had shifted more than 10,000 items.
Similar waste reduction alternatives in Auckland are Renew Waste Exchange, run by the Auckland City Council and targeting business byproducts, and Freecycle, a message board provided by Yahoo where people can post free goods.
Said Miss Sawyers: "All three are making a difference by providing this valuable service."
