That is the inescapable conclusion from the letter received from the council and posted on 27 March.
In its latest issue the Otaki Mail freebie on page 3 lists the prices charged by the 4 present service providers.
The one we use is Low Cost Bins which has a service for an 80-litre bin (1.3 times a 60 litre plastic bag) collected kerbside weekly that works out at an equivalent of $3.40 a week.
Included in that is a big 240-litre recycling wheelie bin that is collected fortnightly.
Can the council offer a better service than that? Not according to its letter. “$8 -10 per bag per week” plus “$40 – $60 per household per annum” for the recycling bin. That works out to between $450 — $580 a year compared to $177 from Low Cost Bins.
Inefficiency and over-staffing are the hallmarks of the KCDC and if the council says it would charge much more, then that can be believed, even if the magnitude of the difference is extraordinary.
There has been comment about minimising waste and Cr Cootes says a bit about that on page 9 of the same Otaki Mail issue.
Most rubbish consists of packaging of consumer products (plus newspapers and junkmail) and it’s hard to avoid that since that’s the way most are sold. There are, however, a few things that could be done at the national level such as “swap a crate” for beer, soft drink and wine glass bottles.
Food scraps will naturally decompose, releasing methane, and one thing the council could do at its ‘transfer stations’ is create a means of collecting that gas and selling it as compressed natural gas: just plug “biogas generator” into a search engine.
In fact, people can do that themselves with backyard neighbourhood versions, although the amount of gas collected will be small.
If you can’t fill a 80-litre bin by yourself a week, why not share the service with a neighbour?
None of this, of course, excuses the subterfuge that council staff like to engage in by claiming that there is no rates component for rubbish collection after having abandoned it, when rates have massively increased over the past decade.
yeah/nah don’t agree. To buy a rubbish wheelie bin where one uses or looses it promotes excessive material in the landfill (wherever it may be).
The latest Auckland system is to buy a tag for $3.80 for an up to 140 ltr wheelie bin and use it as required. This is the equivalent of 2 bags which would cost about $10.80 under Envyrowastes Kapiti plastic bag system.
Envyrowaste are introducing plastic rubbish bags in Auckland to try and disrupt the new system. Sure is a company with a heart of gold. Envirowaste’s yellow bags sell at Countdown supermarkets for $1.95, as opposed to the council’s current price of $2 for a 40 litre bag
But really the council should bring rubbish back into the council services rather than have a free for all from profit making companies.
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Low Cost Bins’ deal of $3.40 for 80 litres per week plus the recycling bin is still better than the Auckland price of $2 per 40 litre bag.
Ideally, it should be a council service but that can’t be contemplated until the KCDC is a streamlined, lean and efficient organisation. The only councillor on the present council pushing for that is David Scott. Next year there’ll be the opportunity to elect more councillors with that desire.
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As at 27 Nov 18 the council is now charging people who are very conservative with their rubbish, $5.20 to dump one black bag at the tip. Of course you also have to buy your bag in this plastic free world. At times I wonder whether I shouldn’t get a bin and dump any old thing that takes my fancy
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