Auckland councillors have voted to make an 80-litre rubbish bin the default for households, down from the current 120 litres, and to work on a pricing system that would make the biggest bins much more expensive.
The vote at a council policy meeting on Tuesday 10 November was close. According to The Post, an amendment to keep the status quo failed 11 votes to 9, and the proposal to move ahead with smaller default bins and new pricing passed by the same margin.
Nothing changes on your rates bill yet. The Post and RNZ report that price changes still have to go out for public consultation, and councillors asked for more work on the pricing.
What would the bins cost?
The Post reported the indicative annual charges set out in the council staff paper:
| Bin size | Now | Proposed |
|---|---|---|
| 80 litres | $169 | $69–$119 |
| 120 litres | $203 | $103–$153 |
| 240 litres | not given | $438–$488 |
Households would be offered free downsizing to an 80-litre bin, according to the paper.
The Post reports that under the indicative numbers, most Aucklanders would get a rates cut of $100 to $150. The roughly 10 percent of households that use the largest bins, often large families or renters, would see their annual charge rise to nearly $500.
Will my current bin be taken away?
No. Deputy mayor Desley Simpson, who voted for the change, told RNZ the bigger red-lid bins would not be taken away. Households that switched to an 80-litre bin would pay less.
When new bins are delivered, households would still get three: recycling, general rubbish and food scraps.
Why is the council doing this?
The council has a target of cutting the amount of rubbish sent to landfill by 29 percent per person by 2030, and The Post reports it is struggling to meet it.
Simpson told RNZ that Auckland has two landfills and finding a site for another is very hard because "no one wants them". She said the planned new landfill at Dome Valley was being held up by environmental and legal challenges.
Council analysis of red-bin contents found that just under half should have gone into recycling or food scraps bins, Simpson said. According to The Post, staff told councillors up to 35 percent of rubbish-bin contents were food scraps, and bin audits showed about 40 percent of rubbish bins were half full or less on collection day. The staff paper estimated the food scraps service had already cut kerbside rubbish sent to landfill by 9.3 percent.
Who is against it?
Manurewa-Papakura councillor Daniel Newman said the 120-litre bin collected weekly was widely accepted and that changing it would be "highly contentious across every Auckland postcode". He warned of higher prices for larger bins, more illegal dumping, and said choice of bin size "remains only available to landlords but not tenants".
Newman told The Post the proposal would see large South Auckland families subsidising wealthier inner-city households, and called it a "trojan horse". He linked it to low use of the food scraps service, which costs about $36 million a year.
Supporters argued larger households could also save if they recycled and used their food scraps bin more. Councillor Julie Fairey said she lives with four adults and an 11-year-old, and they don't need to put their red bin out every week.
What can you do now?
- Check what size bin you have, and how full it really is on collection day.
- Look at what goes in it. If food scraps and recyclables are filling your red bin, moving them to the other bins is the quickest way to manage with a smaller one.
- If you rent, remember Newman's point that bin size is chosen by landlords, not tenants. If you are struggling with a small bin, or a bigger charge is likely to be passed on, raise it with your landlord. Our article on how often rent can be increased covers the rules on rent rises.
- Have your say when consultation opens. No date has been announced yet. Larger and multigenerational households, which are the most likely to need a bigger bin, may especially want to submit.
An earlier plan to trial fortnightly rubbish collections was dropped after 78 percent of submitters opposed it, The Post reports.
