Minimum Weighbridge Charge Increasing

MINIMUM LANDFILL WEIGHBRIDGE CHARGE INCREASING

The minimum charge for disposing of rubbish at the Taumarunui landfill is set to increase to $10 from 1st October.

Ruapehu District Council waste minimisation officer Daniel Allen said that the increase was necessary to provide a more equitable balance between the cost of using kerbside collection and the cost of taking household refuse to the landfill.

There has been a growing trend for taking household rubbish in generic non-Council rubbish bags over the weighbridge rather than using official pink Council bags and the kerbside collection service, he said.

Council recognises that the cost of refuse disposal is expensive however if we don't collect enough revenue from the sale of official refuse bags then Council may need to consider increasing rates it pay for rubbish collection and disposal services.

Ruapehu ratepayers have always been adamant that they prefer Council to recover the cost of services through user pays rather than rates wherever possible.

Mr Allen said that the minimum $10 charge was for up to 20kg of refuse and most people drop off a lot more than that and so won't notice any changes to the weighbridge pricing.

Green waste is not affected by this change there will also be no change to pricing regimes at Council's other transfer stations located in Ongarue, Ohura, Owhango, National Park and Ohakune, he said.

With the Taumarunui landfill possibly closing within five years there are no easy future options for dealing with Ruapehu's waste issues and costs will continue to increase.

The best thing people can do to save money is to get serious about recycling, reusing and composting.

We know from our detailed rubbish bag audits that if every household started composting where possible we have the potential to halve the amount of refuse going to landfill.

Mr Allen noted that anyone wanting information or ideas on household waste minimisation could see www.ruapehudc.govt.nz or contact him via their local Council office.

PETER TILL, CHIEF EXECUTIVE