Whanganui council to ask if residents want rate-funded recycling and rubbish collection

Whanganui residents will be asked about their support for rate-funded kerbside recycling. Photo/ Bevan Conley

Whanganui residents will be asked if they want to a rate increase to fund a recycling and rubbish collection service.

A $10,000 household survey will be conducted by Whanganui District Council over the next two months asking if people preferred a ratepayer funded recycling and rubbish collection, a recycling only collection or to retain the current recycling drop off and user pays rubbish collection.

The survey will be sent to every residential household in the district and people will also be asked they will support a council rubbish collection in the event the current private service stopped operating.

A council kerbside recycling service had been expected to cost about $60 per household and result in a rate increase of about 1.5 per cent.

But council's waste advisor Stuart Hylton said in a report that China's decision to stop accepting most recycled plastic had bumped the market price up to about $100 with a combined recycling and rubbish collection rising to $220.

Council's strategy and finance committee approved the draft survey on Tuesday and chair Kate Joblin hoped council would be "deluged with responses".

"Council is acutely aware that we do not want to burden ratepayers with extra cost, however, a kerbside recycling service in other areas is changing people's behaviour with less rubbish ending up in landfill."

The proposed council-run recycling service would be a wheelie bin for recycling and a crate for glass collected fortnightly on alternate weeks while the proposed rubbish collection will be a wheelie bin collected weekly.

The survey will begin in September - delivered to letterboxes - and close mid-October with results coming to council in December.

Envirowaste canned its kerbside recycling service earlier this year. Photo/ Bevan Conley

Any new service could be considered as part of next year's annual plan.

The draft survey says the proposals will "support Whanganui residents to recycle more and send less waste to landfill".

The survey will be able to be completed on paper or online and is funded from the council's Waste Levy Fund.