Some Central Otago residents mistakenly believe fortnightly rubbish collection will mean their waste charges will be halved.
Fortnightly rubbish collection will replace weekly collection on July 1 but kerbside recycling will continue as a weekly service. At a special Central Otago District Council meeting yesterday held to consider the draft annual plan, corporate services manager Susan Finlay outlined details of the waste management charges.
The move to fortnightly collection was aimed at reducing the amount of rubbish going to landfill, so costs were reduced, and to keep material that was not waste out of the landfill. Mrs Finlay said it appeared some residents were unaware of the pending change to rubbish collection.
Councillor Steve Battrick said some people were under the misapprehension fortnightly rubbish collection would halve costs.
But Mrs Finlay said ratepayers all paid a uniform annual charge of $75 for waste. Those with a wheelie bin paid an annual charge of $306.76, which included the uniform annual charge. The wheelie bin collection contract was being renegotiated and the fee was likely to come down ''a little bit''.
If the council had continued with the weekly collection, the cost would have increased significantly, she said. The area for wheelie bin collection had been extended to include Bannockburn, Pisa and Letts Gully, near Alexandra, and the volumes being transported to the landfill were likely to remain at a similar level until people's behaviour changed and more recycling was done.
''In our figures, we're erring on the conservative side of things; people's behaviour is not going to change on day one.''
Waste minimisation activity would cost the council $791,000 in the coming financial year. Of that amount, $578,000 would be used to fund Central Otago WasteBusters and $91,000 would be used for waste reduction research and education.
The council charged $262 by weight per tonne for people dumping rubbish at its transfer stations. Council chief executive Phil Melhopt said he had canvassed the costs charged by 10 other councils and they ranged from $110 to $241.
''It's on the basis that the waste producer pays,'' he said. Councillor Stu Duncan said the cost would make people ''a bit more careful what they do put in there''.
Councillor Stephen Jeffery noted the saving from fortnightly collection rather than weekly appeared ''quite minor''. Mrs Finlay said the savings would be long term, as people were re-educated and moved towards recycling more material, rather than dumping it in the landfill.
