A new electric rubbish truck in action on the first day of the new collection. Photo / Supplied
A new electric rubbish truck in action on the first day of the new collection. Photo / Supplied
Hamilton's new kerbside collection system launched on Monday - replacing black bags on the streets with three new bins - and despite teething problems, the new system has been met with rave reviews.
On Monday, Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate joined members of the council's waste management team and a fleet of dump trucks, some powered by electricity, on picking up the first load of rubbish and recycling under the new service.
While there were early problems - with some residents still putting out black bags, a few households with no bins at all, and others putting out the incorrect bin for collection, the service's launch has been met with a positive response on social media.
The council will leave stickers on bins that have been incorrectly put out for collection with reasons as to why they were not collected. Photo / Supplied
It has been more than three years in the making for Hamilton, starting with one of largest public responses the council has received with more than 2793 submissions, and ending with the introduction of the new bins.
The new service includes a 120-litre wheeled bin for rubbish, a 240-litre wheeled bin for recycling and a 45-litre crate for glass, all collected fortnightly. The 20- to 30-litre food bin is collected weekly.
As part of the rollout Hamilton City Council created an online rubbish sorter feature on their Fight the Landfill website, which has been popular, along with the address finder which lets residents check which bin needs to go out for the week.
Three days before the city's new kerbside collection rubbish and recycling service got under way this week, the tool had already been used 55,989 times.
Hamilton City Council's infrastructure operations committee chairwoman, Angela O'Leary, says the tool enables people to get up to speed on what goes in each of their new bins and their existing green crate.
"These two online tools and other information on the website – including a collections week calendar and frequently asked questions (FAQs) – are proving not only popular, but also really useful for people who want to make the most of the new service."
She said providing details and tools online is just one part of the information picture.
Most Hamilton residents had placed the correct bins out on Monday. Photo / Supplied
"Council mailed a handy guide booklet to all residents before the end of August and residents can also receive collection week notifications on their mobile phones by downloading the Antenno app free from the App Store and Google Play. We want to make using the new service as easy as possible for everyone, so we can all do our part to reduce, reuse and recycle."
