Government's waste levies bring cheaper kerbside services to Whanganui

A set of recycling and food waste bins in Tauranga. Whanganui is set to get something similar in 2023 and 2024. Photo / NZME

Kerbside recycling services will be brought to Whanganui in the next few years at cheaper prices than the Whanganui District Council had initially expected.

That is thanks to the Government's waste levies that are paid by landfills and go towards initiatives to reduce waste and encourage activities such as composting and recycling.

The recycling service, expected from the middle of 2023 is now expected to cost households about $111.28 per year ($2.14 a week), while the food waste pick-up, coming in 2024 is expected to cost $42.64 per year ($0.82 a week).

That is a significant drop from what the council's modelling had estimated earlier in the year with recycling coming in then at $134.16 a year ($2.58 weekly) and food waste at $60.84 a year ($1.17 weekly).

The council's general manager of property and open spaces, Sarah O'Hagan, said the council was mindful that some locals were struggling with cost of living increases.

"... so we listened to their concerns and recommended using recently increased waste levies to introduce the services at a lower cost."

Council's general manager of property and open spaces, Sarah O'Hagan, says the council is really mindful that some locals are struggling with cost of living increases. Photo / Supplied

With waste levies set to increase substantially through to 2026, the council said it would be able to access more funding for kerbside collections.

"Climate change was also a key consideration."

Keeping food waste out of the landfill reduced greenhouse gas emissions, O'Hagan said.

"Our recommendation to elected members balanced the desire to keep rates low with the responsibility to act on climate change."

The council received 284 formal submissions for the annual plan and long-term plan amendment consultation and 18 people spoke directly to councillors at hearings earlier this month.

Formal submissions showed 63 per cent support for kerbside recycling and 35 per cent support for kerbside food waste.

"The level of support we've seen is in line with what's been experienced in other centres," O'Hagan said.

She said initial demand for a kerbside food waste service tended to be low, but picked up after people saw it as useful.

In the submissions opposing the food waste collection, stances ranged from opposing the bad smells of bins sitting in the sun to people already managing their own waste using compost techniques.

Others said food was so expensive they could not afford to have waste to throw out and therefore would not need the service.

Mayor Hamish McDouall says the decision for the kerbside services is important for future generations. Photo / Bevan Conley

Many people opposed the extra costs of the service on their rates bill.

But O'Hagan said it would reduce how much people were having to put in the rubbish, potentially leading to savings on what they paid for rubbish collection.

"With rubbish disposal costs tipped to increase significantly in coming years, the chance to save money with the kerbside services will be appealing to many households."

She said there were indications from Government more funding for councils' kerbside services was on the way.

The council added that Government had recently consulted on a proposal that would require all councils to implement kerbside food waste collections in urban areas by no later than 2030.

Mayor Hamish McDouall said the decision for the kerbside services was important for future generations.

"While we have a cost of living crisis right now, and while we must always consider the widow living in a larger house on a fixed income, I'm worried about the legacy we're leaving for the next generation."

He said if actions were not taken now, the next generation could inherit a world that was impossible to live in.

"Can I tell you what our biggest crisis is? It's climate change."

Houses in the Whanganui urban area and Fordell, Marybank and Mowhanau villages will pay the targeted rate for the new services.

The targeted rate for recycling will start in mid-2023 and the targeted rate for food waste will start from mid-2024.

The council said kerbside food waste service will collect a much wider range of food scraps than what can be composted at home, including meat, bones, fish, cooked food and some compostable packaging.

The Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre on Maria Place will remain open for households in rural areas and to take items that cannot be collected kerbside.

Two recycling stations will also be trialled in rural areas.