9 January 2025
Media: Local Democracy Reporter
Topic: Litter bin removal
Enquiry
I have some comment below relating to bin removal for response please, and some questions below that. CC'ing Nikoletta given the mention of councillors receiving complaints.
Lake Ōkāreka Community Association chairman Mitch Collins agreed with Top 10's Kelsi Hira.
“The initial justification and subsequent excuse is as Kelsi said, 100% about cost reduction. There is no reason that bins cannot be restored at Blue Lake.”
Collins believed the council relied too heavily on community rubbish reporting.
“Apart from [the] council sending out a summer student with a clipboard during business hours, they actually cannot quantify the scale of the problem.
“Instead they want to put the burden of proof onto us to retain the services and ask us to make a survey and catalogue of rubbish picked up. Why should we have to send Council photos of rubbish we have collected?
“We don’t work for Council. We have jobs. Council are really capitalising on community goodwill ... offering us a supply of gloves and rubbish bags is an insult.”
It was through “limited justification” it removed the Tikitapu bins, he said, and it intended to do the same in other areas.
His belief was bolstered by now-removed signs that were erected near Lake Ōkāreka bins, telling people to take their rubbish home.
Minutes for an August Lakes Community Board meeting agenda with a council presentation to members outlined the intention to remove 80 more bins from urban reserves, lakes reserves and boat ramps.
A note on Tikitapu bin removal was that no significance litter increase was observed.
“There was some issue with dog poo and some public perception of litter increasing.”
Collins said, like Hira had, if it was about waste education extra bins would not have been recently installed at the Rotorua lakefront and there would be the same signs there.
"I struggle with the logic of it."
Collins understood councillors, the chief executive and the community board had received complaints. He said the minutes were the only way to know about the bin removal intention with no community consultation.
Collins said Lake Ōkāreka residents have a strong environmental sense of stewardship. Throughout the year, rubbish levels in bins and littered were generally low, but as “extreme” levels of people came in summer, bins overflowed.
He said litter was mostly cleared by locals before bin collection services got there, with one man collecting between one and three bags a day on his dog walk at Boyes Beach.
Collins recalled a conversation he had with chief executive Andrew Moraes, who he said mentioned Taupō‘s bin removal was successful.
Taupō was less populated and had more beach areas than Rotorua, Collins said, where “the entire city” descended mostly on small beaches including Boyes and Tikitapu and it could not be considered a direct comparison.
Neither was comparing them to the Te Putake O Tawa MTB Carpark, he said.
“That place would probably be more akin to a supermarket carpark. Besides, the food businesses that operate there take back customer waste.”
As well as response to the above:
Since the bins at Tikitapu were removed, how many others have been removed from reserves and boat ramps? How many will be and when?
How was the impact to local businesses considered when the bins were removed? How was the impact on visitor perception considered?
Why were the signs to take home rubbish removed from Ōkāreka? When? When were they put up?
Is the removal of bins in more rural communities a cost saving measure? Why/why not?
Does the council recognise the community is experiencing a direct impact from bin removal?
Why has there been no community consultation on bin removal given the impact it has had on the communities bin removal has already happened? WIll there be and when?
What is the council saving by not servicing removed bins?
Any other relevant information or comment?
Response
From Manager Waste and Climate Change Craig Goodwin:
Our expectation – which should be everybody’s expectation – is that people take responsibility for their rubbish and, where there are no bins, take it with them and dispose of it in their home rubbish and recycling bins or at transfer stations.
Most people value our lakes and recreational areas and do the right thing.
Putting bins back or increasing the number of bins is not the solution to what is actually a problem with some people’s behaviour and attitude. This is what needs to change.
International and national evidence shows removing or relocating bins in places like parks encourages people to take responsibility for what they bring in and dispose of mindfully.
Most litter managed by Rotorua Lakes Council in our urban and recreational spaces originates from residents and public bins are often misused, increasingly used for illegal dumping of household and business waste. This was the case with the bins at Tikitapu.
Different areas of the district generate their own unique set of visitors and the behaviours that come with them. This is a significant difference between the CBD retail area, developed landscaped amenity reserves in the middle of the city like the lakefront, sports fields, cemeteries and our areas of relatively unspoilt natural beauty.
All of these areas can be impacted by the rubbish people bring with them. We aim to tailor the management of rubbish in these areas so that impact is minimised.
We want to divert as much waste from the landfill as possible and recovering recyclable materials is part of that. Public litter bins are not effective for this as containers are usually unclean and not able to be accepted for recycling.
The initiative to remove or relocate litter bins in local public parks and reserves encourages residents and visitors to take responsibility for what they bring in to our natural areas. Many other councils and organisations (eg Department of Conservation), follow a ‘leave no trace’ principle. All of Auckland’s Regional Parks, for instance, operate on a “take your rubbish with you” policy which has worked well there and has strong public and visitor support.
There is no expectation on the public to pick up litter left by others. There are locals who do so voluntarily and we appreciate this and work with them, but that is not an expectation and we encourage people to report rubbish issues so they can be dealt with promptly. Council can’t be everywhere at once so we do rely on the public to help us in this regard.
Council staff and contractors are in our public reserve areas daily, including at Tikitapu, and part of this is cleaning up rubbish. These patrols increase during summer.
Reducing the number of public litter bins is part of Rotorua Lakes Council’s Waste Management and Minimisation Plan 2022-2028 and bins were removed at Tikitapu to deal with an ongoing wasp issue but also provided the first real test of bin reduction.
Since then there has been no noticeable or reported issue with wasps and no noticeable or reported increase in issues with rubbish at Tikitapu. In the 12 months to 19 December 2024 we received five calls from the public about rubbish at Tikitapu and six from council staff or contractors who noted rubbish while in the area.
Laura, you’ll find the Waste Management and Minimisation Plan at the following link on RLC’s website where you’ll also find other info and answers to questions you might find useful for your understanding: Resourceful Rotorua - Rotorua Lakes Council
The Waste Management and Minimisation Action Plan was consulted on in February 2022 and summarises council’s objectives, policies and targets for waste management and minimisation and outlines the tools and actions to deliver the goals and achieve the targets.
Since the bins at Tikitapu were removed, how many others have been removed from reserves and boat ramps? How many will be and when?
Of a total of 740 bins we had across our district 45 have been removed from the CBD, 29 from road and neighbourhood reserves and 23 from Tikitapu, 91 in all.
The CBD and urban bins were either often near empty or being abused with illegal dumping and their removal was part of operational decisions under the litter bin optimisation objective in the council’s Waste Management and Minimisation Plan 2022-28, adopted by Council following community consultation in 2022.
The decision to remove the Tikitapu bins three summers ago was to deal with wasp issues. These were often overflowing and being used to dump household rubbish so their removal also provided an opportunity to test the impact of bin removal generally.
Our approach, based on research, was that people conscientious enough to use a litter bin will be conscientious enough to contain their rubbish and take it home with them. It’s the true litter bugs whose behaviour needs to change.
We will always have to do some litter clearance in these reserves and can manage that with existing resources.
Our measure from the removal of the litterbins is based on whether or not the litter on the ground is significantly worse than it was before we removed them. 23 x 240L bins is a capacity of 5,520 litres of rubbish per day over the peak summer period. That’s 38,640 litres of rubbish per week if they were all used to full capacity. If only 10% of that was left behind after the bin removal, that would be 3,860 litres of rubbish. On our monitoring visits we routinely collect about 2-3 60L bags. The community have also collected similar amounts. As far as we can tell, the litter being left behind at Tikitapu is 1-2% of the available capacity of the bins that were there. This we can manage using alternative means.
The impact in the CBD and our urban reserves appears to be similar at this point.
The litter bin optimisation project was always intended to be a phased project over a three year period.
Phase 1 (2024): Remove bins that were either redundant or being abused.
Phase 2 (2025-2026): Begin to work with stakeholders in areas to get their feedback and input.
The above was discussed at the Community Board Meeting Mr Collins was referring to.
How was the impact to local businesses considered when the bins were removed? How was the impact on visitor perception considered?
The expectation is that there should be no impact on businesses because people should be taking their rubbish with them. However, as part of Phase 2, we will be engaging with businesses in areas where bins have been or are planned to be removed.
Why were the signs to take home rubbish removed from Ōkāreka? When? When were they put up?
These signs were put up a few months ago and intended to educate the public and encourage them to do the right thing. They were removed mid-November as they were found to be 0.04 of a square metre oversize, according to signage rules for Ōkāreka.
Is the removal of bins in more rural communities a cost saving measure? Why/why not?
Reducing the number of bins is not targeted at rural communities.
The main goal is to reduce the amount of rubbish produced overall in our district as the increasing waste volume is not sustainable. Encouraging people to think more consciously about the waste they generate and what they do with that once they have finished with it is just one part of this – taking rubbish home to sort effectively is better for this than dumping it in a litter bin, where it will all go to landfill.
By optimising litter bin placement and encouraging correct recycling and waste disposal we can also reduce service and maintenance costs.
Does the council recognise the is experiencing a direct impact from bin removal?
Our view is that much of the community appears to have gotten on board and has adapted their behaviour to match changes made, particularly in our urban areas.
Why has there been no community consultation on bin removal given the impact it has had on the communities bin removal has already happened? Will there be and when?
Reducing the number of public litter bins is part of Council’s Waste Management and Minimisation Plan 2022-28 which was consulted on in February 2022. Removals have occurred over time where this align with the goals of the WMMP and we will be engaging with communities and businesses as part of Phase 2 of the bin optimisation programme.
What is the council saving by not servicing removed bins?
There is the potential to make significant savings if we can get the community on board and the amount of litter that needs to be dealt with reduces. For instance, we may need fewer trucks collecting litter which would be a saving. Savings would be used for waste-reduction initiatives. We won’t know the extent of any savings until we have completed Phase 2.
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Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Waitangi Day events
Enquiry
I am writing a preview story on events taking place on Waitangi Day in Rotorua and was wanting to get some comment from you on the event happening at Wai Ariki Springs. I have been made aware that you are opening the event on the day.
Questions:
1. What does it mean to you as mayor to be able to celebrate and educate the community on the Treaty on events such as this?
2. What is so important about events like this on such a significant day and how do they unite the community?
3. What do you hope the Rotorua community will take away from this year's Waitangi Day event?
Response
From Mayor Tania Tapsell:
What does it mean to you as mayor to be able to celebrate and educate the community on the Treaty on events such as this?
“The Treaty, and the values of partnership within it, are reflected in the history of Rotorua. As Mayor, it’s a pleasure to support working in partnership with Māori and iwi locally, as well as celebrate how important the Treaty of Waitangi is for our country.”
What is so important about events like this on such a significant day and how do they unite the community?
“We’re grateful to Tūnohopū Marae Trust and everyone else involved in organising this community event. It brings together not only locals, but also visitors to our city, to celebrate the meaning behind the Treaty which is all about people and protecting the places we love.
“Now that the old QE Health building has been removed, it will be exciting to hold this event at the new green space at Wai Ariki Hot Springs & Spa overlooking the lake. This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase our history and the beautiful environment our diverse community calls home.”
What do you hope the Rotorua community will take away from this year's Waitangi Day event?
“Recently we’ve seen an unprecedented amount of protests and submissions in regards to the Government’s Treaty Principles Bill. This has created significant division and uncertainty throughout New Zealand. I hope our local Waitangi Day event will provide our Rotorua community with the opportunity to remember what’s important – moving forward into the future together.”
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Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Rotorua Daily Post annual Christmas appeal
Enquiry
I'm just wanting to request a comment for an article reporting the final tally of the Rotorua Daily Post Christmas Appeal. We hit a new record and managed to surpass last year's [2023] record of $94,409.30!
The final tally for the 2024 drive was $103,633.50 and we are super grateful Lakes Council helped by hosting a can collection point during the six weeks.
If you are available to provide a comment from Tania about the council's involvement with the drive and how she feels that the city has surpassed the record it set the previous year (because of people's generosity to others in need) we would love to include it in the article announcing the new record for this weekend's paper.
Response
From Mayor Tania Tapsell:
“This is an incredible outcome to have collected a record amount and really shows the great spirit of our Rotorua community.
“Even with the tough financial times we’re experiencing, people's generosity has shone through and ensured those in need still received food and toys for Christmas.
“Council was a collection point for donations and it was heart-warming to see the collection baskets filling up with donations from locals and also council staff.
“We once again send a heartfelt thank you to all involved in ensuring the annual Christmas Appeal is able to go ahead and to everyone who has donated so generously.”
