KEY POINTS:
Inorganic rubbish collections could be abandoned in Auckland City because of the outcry over streets being filled with clutter.
The amount collected this year is up on the last collection - indicating the service is popular with some - but other residents object to their streets resembling rubbish tips every two years.
This forum debate has now closed. Here is a selection of your views on the topic.
Luke Mason
Every street you drive down looks is a rubbish tip. I remember as a kid cycling down the street and falling over this rubbish tip and cutting myself rather badly. This kind of thing should have died out with the 80s. In today's era of environmentally friendliness this type of ghetto inducing mentality is awful, unsafe and unsightly.
Brian
Maybe we should have a collection shed in each suburb where inorganic rubbish can be deposited free of charge at any time. A very small charge could be levied for goods taken from the collection shed by those wanting the junk, to cover the cost of the facility. In addition to this, kerbside inorganic collections continue as usual for those who have no choice but to use this means of disposal. A merit system may be considered whereby people who consistently recycle and put out near empty waste bins week after week are given vouchers to collect from the local shed.
Evan (St Lukes)
I've had a decent clean out, my neighbour has had a decent clean out, and the guys up the road have had a decent clean out - it's a great service. However, if the council is looking to make improvements how about supplying us with a jumbo bin every six months or so for our inorganic rubbish. That way it would still be providing a much wanted service without the associated eyesore. One jumbo bin to every six or so houses should do the trick, leaving the bin there for about a week.
Bucklands Beach
The inorganic rubbish collection saves on trailer hire and tip fees. It also forces my husband to clean out his garage within a strict time frame. For those who get a bit bent out of shape over a bit of mess on the road side for a couple of weeks.....find something important to worry about!! Its just rubbish!
Sue
Rather than having mass council pick-ups why not supply each household with one voucher for a mini skip to be used within one rated year. The skip pick-up and delivery is free and can be used at anytime during the year or as skips are available. Dwellings sharing driveways or neighbours could stagger their vouchers and each time share the skip having a regular inorganic collection. Often people store items for up to a year in order to place them on the street which creates a lack of space and often health hazards.
Richard Haakma
Here in Waitakere City we have the same problem. The frequency of collection has decreased several times while I have been living here. If you collect half as often is it any wonder that the piles get twice as high? The council should provide inorganic collections more often, even once a month. Then the piles of rubbish will be much less offensive. Come on council - roads, water, sewage and rubbish collection are services I expect.
Rob Aerts
I couldn't agree more. Living in a tip is not why we choose to live in Auckland. Recent visitors from overseas were shocked. Both vouchers and a resource park sound like great options. I feel for those people trying to sell their homes in some neighbourhoods at the moment. Our neigbourhood has been filled with junk for 6 weeks already and our collections are still 2 weeks away! We are over it!
Tidy Kiwi
Please do not even contemplate doing away with the bi-annual inorganic collections. There are many people who do not have a trailer bar on their car, or who are elderly and therefore cannot easily dispose of unwanted rubbish.These collections stop many a section from looking like a rubbish dump, home for vermin, and devaluing other properties in the area.I don't really care if outsiders dump their junk in my street for a short period of time once every two years. The collectors are prompt in our area and it is gone in the designated collection week.
Ms Auckland
Drastic measures should be instigated immediately to change the state of affairs of rubbish collection throughout Auckland. because most Auckland streets look like one giant rubbish dump when people put their rubbish out. It surely is a "great" way to attract rats and other rodents as well as a heaven for scavenging dogs. Thus it's a great health hazard to Auckland's citizens, too. Thus, all rubbish should be placed into designated rubbish bins and/or solid paper rubbish bags. I mean, just look at the rubbish in e.g. Queen St or K'rd. Must make tourists think they've ended up in a third world country. I wonder why these visionless Auckland politicians are born blind.
Heather
I remember driving to the airport when there was an inorganic rubbish day/week/month/whatever. It looked like a Delhi slum and was an appalling way for visitors to see their first glimpse of Auckland. Time for council to get organised and have only one or two days for rubbish to be collected, and clamp down hard on those dorks who shove all their crap on the road at the first whisper of a collection.
Jay from Nelson
Last time I came to Auckland and drove immediately into Otahuhu I was astounded at the appalling mess on the streets - so astounded, not realising what was happening, that I had to stop the car and take a look around. I had this ghastly feeling of having arrived in a third world slum. But, having said that, I can now see what a useful service it is for folks who don't have means of getting to the dump.
Rob (Waitakere)
Scrap the inorganic collecton and leave our streets tidy. Why do we always make it someone elses responsibility to clean up after ourselves? We have become a society of litter bugs,so how can you expect people to keep their properties tidy if we can't keep our streets tidy. If you buy something new trade in the old,we need to organise our lives so that we become less dependent on others and then the councils will be able to waste our rates on other things like footpaths and proper drainage etc. If you dont own a trailer or have a tow bar find someone who does or even try helping your neighbour who is too old or poor to get rid of theirs with yours. Get a life Aucklanders why must every day start with a moan .
Peter (Mt Roskill)
A number of years ago (before amalgamation) Mt Roskill council provided jumbo bins. This kept the streets cleaner and I am sure would also have been a more efficient way of taking the rubbish away. For a whole month Auckland streets look worse than a third world country. You can't even walk along the footpath. What about children going to school? Where are the health and safety inspectors when you need them? I wonder what visitors to Auckland think? Will we be having these collections during the rugby world cup? Probably not...so why is it OK any other time? Come on council - show a bit of class.
Julie
The collections create mess that mostly seems to stem from the scavengers. I have seen piles of rocks, concrete, tins of paint, glass- all supposedly not allowed but put out for collection anyway. I also recall there was a young boy hit by a car and killed in Mt Wellington a few years back while sifting through the debris. Give ratepayers a few vouchers for free trips to the transfer station each year and cancel these collections.
Claire Sawyers
I do not think the inorganic collection should be abandoned - it provides a valuable service to Aucklanders, many of whom would not have the transport or means to take it to the tip were it user pays, and would find other less savory means of disposing of it.However, I do think that people should think more on what they put out on the side of the road. If people were more discerning and utilised any of the 3 amazing re-use exchange websites operating in this area (namely DonateNZ, Freecycle and Renew Waste Exchange) those good or reusable items would find great new homes in the community. This would ultimately lead to a reduction in the amount of fossickers on the side of the road, who savage the neatly stacked piles at all hours of the day, leaving the horrible mess in their path.
Catriona
If the council picked up the rubbish sooner there wouldn't be such a mess or such a long chance for scavengers to get at it. It is often left out for weeks after the council specified collection date.
Trev
It seems to me the way the councils organise "clean up week" is ridiculous! The mess must create a great impression for anybody visiting our fair city. Surely a system of refuse bins say 2cubic metres could be organised through the council, say every 18months. I would see it that a householder would apply for a bin during this period if required, then the householder would have a week or whatever time was agreed to load the bin and ring for collection when ready. The cost to ratepayers for the current system of collection must be horrendous. There has to be a better way.
K (Auckland)
I think they should be abandoned as a potential hazard. Its bad enough we have kids playing on the roads, but every year we also have rubbish strewn across the road as people go through it. It would be fine if they cleaned their mess up but they don't. No its easier to leave it scattered up and down the street. My kids are not allowed out of the gate during this time of year. I agree we need something and as one person pointed out, a area where we can take our inorganic material to be sorted would be fabulous.But not on my street please.
Steve Hogg
The inorganic collection has become an annual free for all, a large portion of rubbish left abandoned on our West Auckland streets is clearly commercial and not domestic as intended. Every year the collection gets bigger than the previous, its becoming like Guy Fawkes one of those annual events you wish was over before it begins!
Jan
Sure it causes a mess for a couple of weeks but consider this:
Mess on the roadside for a short time or mess in a neighbours' property, attracting rodents, flies and creating an eyesore for the long-term; Because annual inorganic collections are so convenient, it encourages residents to have a clean-up;Vouchers may seem like a good option but not everyone has acccess to a trailer and/or vehicle to make the trip to the dump;Ceasing inorganic collections will not stop roadside dumping, it's likely to increase it.
Rocky
The inorganic collection service is great, but obviously the mess evident is not. A lot of this would be eliminated if the council was more exact as to what actual day the collection will be on. I see often rubbish pilling up weeks before it is actually collected. This just attracts scavengers and illegal dumpsters,
Amanda (Japan)
When I lived in Herne Bay, we were the only student flat in the street. We tidily put out only a box of broken coat hangers and a broken deck chair. But in the morning, we had a towering pile of other people's unwanted rubbish, which they were too snotty to leave in front of their own manicured homes and so had sneaked it onto our grass verge in the night. That was pretty funny. However, I think the inorganic rubbish collection is great and the council would be both silly and irresponsible to abandon it. There just needs to be better timing - people should have two or three days to put their rubbish out and the collection should be prompt.
Thilal
Need not be a big issue. Citizens need to dispose their inorganic rubbish periodically, so Councils must facilitate this service. But what baffles me is why Councils allow people to pile them up as long as two weeks before. Just like organic collections, why can't they instruct people not to drop the stuff by the kerb before the collection day? Anybody who violates this rule should be fined. After all it is once a year event and neighbours need not be too grumpy.
Pete (Auckland)
The very idea of scrapping inorganic collection is as repulsive as it is unjust. So the council is anticipating increasing rates and yet reducing services is just a "quick wins" and "low hanging fruit" approach and is not a long term solution. Annual collection has been already scrapped so lets scrap it altogether is a solution?. Now thats pure rubbish.
Del
Maybe if they were held once a year, then there would be less rubbish? And do we really want old fridges etc. sitting around peoples houses for the chemicals to leak out of, and cats to get trapped in? How many people do you know that have a trailer, and a towbar on their car to take such large rubbish to the tip?This is an awesome service and should be left as it is, or made more frequent.
Chris Thoreau
Inorganic rubbish collections are essential now that rubbish dumps are so few and far between and there is such a cost associated with getting in the gate. Instead of having inorganic rubbish collections only every two years they should be more often, like 6 monthly, so that the piles are smaller and collection can actually take place on the day nominated. Sometimes the collection is over a week later than the date advertised on the flyer. That seems to be why the piles get so messy with curb crawlers rummaging, removing stuff and adding it to the amount down the road when they have decided not to take something away.
Kristy
I think the inorganic collections are a good idea if some crucial changes are made.The council needs to collect promptly on time. I called them up after dirty nappies and broken glass littered my grass verge, and the council was a week late collecting it. It just goes on for too long, so if the period of advertisement and collection was shorter I think we could all put up with it.
Tia, Tangata Whenua
Inorganic collections are a way of allowing the public to recycle used and broken items that would otherwise become landfill. Yes its a bit hard on the eye to the average middle to upper class citizens, but one week of that is easy compared to living in rubbish full time which may be the case in 20yrs if people would only become more aware of conscious consuming. We are a wasteful generation. I personally would like to see Inorganic collections more often. One mans trash is another mans treasure!
Marie
I think Inorganic collections are awesome - it's a chance to get rid of rubbish that you can't normally put out at your weekly rubbish collection - It appears that there is a problem which needs to be addressed, maybe we need people from the council policing the streets at all hours and issuing tickets to people who are doing the illegal dumping.
Silver Fox
Perhaps the all the Auckland councils should consider their outrageous tip charges for a start. Perhaps if the charges were dropped altogether residents would take their refuse directly to the tip and this in turn would negate the need to employ contractors for the removal of the organic rubbish
Sally Mck
The leaflet from the council explains that virtually everything picked up in the inorganic collection goes to the landfill so people cruising the streets day and night picking up things is an excellent way of recycling. These people obviously think they can either use the item or re-sell it - either way this is better than the stuff going straight to the landfill. I live in Glendowie and the inorganic collection was about 3 months ago. It was well worth putting up with the mess on the streets for a fortnight, (watching the scavengers became a kind of sport) and I commend the council for cleaning up every single scrap that was left out on the pavements. Our homes are emptier of junk, someone has scored some free stuff so less stuff is going to the landfill - a win-win situation!
MDC
Yes of course we should still have inorganic collections. Not everyone has a car and trailer in order to dispose of inorganic - especially not older people. Some of the problem this year was caused by the Council itself. Ours was to be out by 7.00am on the Monday morning but wasn't collected until the end of the week, by which time it had been well scattered about the footpaths. Last collection time we had it out by 7.00am and the pick-up truck came by at 8.00am - no problem - just a matter of organisation.
Waitakere City
The service should continue to be provided to the citizens. However it should be cleaned up faster by the contractors to avoid bigger piles over the days.
Bruce (Auckland)
I see an interesting undercurrent of social superiority in some of the views that have been expressed. Nothing overt or blatant, but numerous references directed at the supposed class of people who scavange through the inorganic piles: the fact that they were driving Bongo wagons or that they were doing all of this for 50c worth of copper pipe. What a superior bunch! The fact is that the scavengers come from all walks of life, but there a great number of them who are not that well off and for whom the treasures to be found on inorganic day are a good honest way to make, or save, a buck. But, they would be denied this by people whose biggest issue in life is the fact that the pavement outside their house looks messy for a week.
Russ
Yes! but as an alternative, allow free tipping of anything recyclable at Municipal dump stations.
Joan (Christchurch)
In Chch we have never had an inorganic rubbish collection. Instead we can drop useable items off at the Rubbish Transfer Stations free. They are then transferred to the "Super Shed" where they are sold for very small sums. It is a wonderful place to visit for great bargains. e.g. I bought a brand new dinner set of 24 pieces for $2 recently. You could fill a supermarket bag for that price and I managed to get it all in! Also satisfying to find a spare part for a stove or a washing machine, etc. for a few cents.
Greg (Auckland)
One might like to enquire as to why there are few if ever any prosecutions by the Council. None according to our enquiries. You might like to enquire what action they take when the first lot of rubbish is put on the street. Again nothing according to the Council. In fact the Council workers get angry on the phone when told it is not good enough and ask us what should be done. I say sack the workers who have no ideas to the point of asking the public. Here are a few of my ideas: First report of rubbish out to early sees flyers in all surrounding street letter boxes saying if rubbish is not removed Council will prosecute. Second use hidden investigators to catch peoiple in the act then fine them to the hilt and publicise. When this is done regularly the problem will shrink. Until the Council takes it seriously then it should not say publicly it takes the issue seriously.
Gae (Whangaparaoa)
You lucky people out there who are fortunate to get any inorganic collection and still moaning! I have lived on the Hibiscus Coast for 5 years and to date have never seen any such collection. I'm forever hopeful that a new Mayor may see fit to provide us with even an annual collection after the local body elections in September.
Sam (Mission Bay)
The idea is a sound one but the practice leaves a lot to be desired. While the council stipulates that inorganic rubbish is to go out No earlier than a week before the collection, we had junk piled up in the street for up to 3 weeks before ( which meant that there was rubbish often strewn across properties (wind and dogs) and all sorts of people stopping dangerously at all hours to pick the rubbish over - much of which was real rubbish or dangerous to reuse such as broken electrical appliances.I rang Akld City to be told scavenging is not illegal in Auckland City but it is in Waitakere. We need to follow suit and also ensure that the council comes to pick up the rubbish smartly. In our area the rubbish remained uncollected for 2 weeks after the due pick up date. The council needs to "clean up its act" if they want a 'green city" not a third world one.
Nick
I dont have problems with scavengers but the mess is usually attributed to out of town dumpers! In South Auckland huge piles of illegally dumped rubbish are several metres high way before the council collections are due to start! I hope it doesn't stop it makes for an interesting spectacle!
Lynn (Alfriston)
Out on the side of a 100km country road during our anual inorganic collection I see people sifting through another persons rubbish trying to find that all important washing machine agitator or another peice of copper worth 50c.A lot of the time the same people are driving down the 100 km road at 10kms with their heads out the windows and minds definitely not on the road code! We have had a few near misses as the road is too narrow to park on the side without sticking well out into the road. We also seem to have magic growing inorganic. As as soon as one person has put theirs out everyone else down the street does too. The worst problem is the dump sites that start in an area. The worst one I have ever seen was on the corner of Walters and Mill Road. It was consistently so bad the council has changed the alignment of the road so you cannot pull over at this intersection easily anymore! As far as I'm concerned inorganic rubbish collection doesn't need a rethink. It just simply needs to stop.We have other avenues to get rid of the junk. Lets use them.
Green (Mt Wellington)
I would like to see regional recycling centres such as "The Shed" in ChCh, where items are dropped of at no charge, as well as the continuation of the inorganiccollections.The existing refuse transfer stations could be used for this Recyclable items can be brought for a minimal amount. Although the collections are messy and annoying people should be aware that there will be more dumping of rubbish if they are stopped, and not everyone will be bothered to take there recycling to a centre.
Richard Haakma
Here in Waitakere City we have the same problem. The frequency of collection has decreased several times while I have been living here. If you collect half as often is it any wonder that the piles get twice as high? The council should provide inorganic collections more often, even once a month. Then the piles of rubbish will be much less offensive. Come on council - roads, water, sewage and rubbish collection are services I expect.
Jeff H (Mission Bay)
I did wonder if the theft of the bronze memorial plaques from Purewa Cemetery in the same week as the inorganics collection was coincidental? Our neighbours arrived home to find their garden dining furniture had been neatly stacked by the gate! Personally we had a good chuck out though and if it gets reused or recycled it's a good thing but I'd rather take it to a local transfer station myself if it was free. A real pat on the back and a cold one should go to the guys that finally picked the whole mess up.
Anjuli (Gisborne)
We have inorganic collections twice a year and it happens on a Sunday usually between 10am-2pm only, you put out your inorganic rubbish and people have the opportunity to come and get what they want out of it, you have to register your address then it is listed in the local paper. Once the time is up then you have to dispose of it properly. This works well and has been growing in numbers of the years. As they say 1 man's rubbish is another man's treasure.
Michelle (North shore)
Keep them going. They do an invaluable service for those of us who don't have a trailer but it also gives everyone a chance to pick something up that they might need. In this disposable world, I fully support those who come to pick up stuff (recycle) that I put out - my junk, their treasure. It cuts down on what goes in to landfill. What the council needs to do is enforce the rules they already have - illegal dumpers and treasure hunters making a mess and those who put the stuff out weeks too early.So for the sour grapes who want to whine about something that happens once a year, get over yourselves!
D King
Has anyone else noticed the lift in crime in their street during collection week? The extra noise late at night (as the rubbish is sifted) tends to mask any other noises that may alert residents. We always have many incidents of thefts from cars, vandalism, theft of garden ornaments etc around the area during this period, while very little at any other time.
John Robb
Of course they shouldn't be abandoned, it's an essential service and one of the precious few useful ones that councils provide for our rates. I'm sure the people complaining also use the service they just don't have as much junk as the others. What is really needed is for the councils to expedite the pick-ups and not leave it there for weeks. Apart from that I think we pay too much attention in the media to the bleating of the few. It's life and community in action be in it.
Mouse
I think it is just another ploy for the council to do away with yet another so called service. The main reason we are getting this organic mess is because instead of twice a year like it used to be organics is now only once and I point out we are not being charged a cheaper rate for cutting it down to one. I dont know soon we will be paying for nothing with one tax or another. I think the council is one fat joke.
Craig F
The rubbish started piling in my area (Three Kings) up about 6 weeks ago. The net result? You can't walk on the footpath on some streets due to the amount of unwanted goods that have been dumped. Worse still are the scavengers. Last Sunday I was out for a run at 7.15am. I ran past two Toyota Bongo wagons whose occupants were tearing through yet another large pile of discarded household items that were deposited the night previous. As they tore through the pile, they threw what wasn't wanted around the original pile, onto the street, the sidewalk, front lawns, and into the gutter. About 18 months ago I had to work in Jakarta. I had to travel to my place of work through some some pretty disgusting areas. Those areas now resemble the streets around my neighbourhood.
Dee (Auckland)
I lived in Melbourne for 5 years and their system seems to work much better than ours. Promote the inorganic collection for 2-3 weeks in the area, stating that items have to be placed 'orderly' on the roadside, outside your own house, not more than 3 days in advance. This would alleviate the weeks of rubbish accumulation. In the area I live in Auckland, the only way I knew an inorganic collection was coming up was the growing piles of garbage on the roadside - I saw no notification of collection dates, or appropriate conduct. More promotion would be a great start.
Brommers
I think that inorganic collections are a good idea, but the present process of dumping outside your house is crazy. It turns the streets of Auckland into a complete tip and eyesore! It needs to be better managed and controlled, with designated sites possibly?
Jane
I don't think the inorganic collection should be abandoned! I think it is a very useful service and as it is only once every two years surely people can put up with the slight inconvenience! In Point Chevalier, where I live, I noticed very little problems at all. The collection meant that people got the chance for a good spring-clean of their houses and the streets were bustling with activity as people brought out their rubbish. Piles were kept neat, and after the collectors had been there was no sign of the piles ever having been there.
Prom (Lynfield)
99 per cent of the junk I saw was not listed by the council for collection.giving the lunatics a chance to empty their trash laden hovels for free is asking for trouble. As for the people who scavenge and leave it strewn about, "another mans trash is not a treasure", but still trash.go the salvos or op shops for a bargain and support a good cause.Can the trash day please.
