Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2024 1:50 PM
Subject: Information request: Sloane Street Reserve rubbish bin
I refer to your information request of 31 July 2024 regarding the Sloane Street Reserve rubbish bin. Below are responses to your questions:
Why has the bin been removed?
As an action as part of Council’s Waste Minimisation and Management Plan 2022-28 which was consulted on in February 2022 - action (I2) “To optimise litter bin placement, bin types and their capacities for the best outcome” - staff have identifiedbins in areas that are either under-utilised (23% having no rubbish in them) or are being misused (30% having bagged household or shop rubbish in them). Bin optimisation means placing bins only where they are beneficial and not where they are either contributing to perverse outcomes or are in locations where Council is over-providing in its delivery of levels of service. The Sloane Street Reserve bin was identified as being under-utilised and the level of service over-provided.
The rationale for the change is:
- One in three public bins are being misused. They are increasingly used for illegal dumping of household and business waste with Council spending a significant amount disposing of waste dumped in public bins and roadsides, incurring an avoidable cost to ratepayers.
- Urban neighbourhood reserves are used primarily by residents in the surrounding neighbourhood.
- The reserve is either within walking distance or a short drive from home of the primary users.
- All residents are responsible for the rubbish they generate and have a kerbside bin at home that is serviced once per week.
- There are no nearby fast food, café or dairy businesses that produce takeaway packaging and other litter.
- Litter bins don’t support recycling and waste minimisation behaviours, whereas at home all residents have access to a recycling bin and can sort their waste at home.
- Urban neighbourhood reserves are mowed and maintained on a regular basis. Litter clearance of the reserve is required before mowing. As such, it is unnecessary to have two contractors removing litter from the same reserve where the bin is barely used.
- Dog owners are responsible for the waste they generate and have a bin at home.
Is this temporary or permanent?
The service is now managed under a continuous improvement approach. No bin is either temporary or permanent. Bins are placed where they provide a positive outcome in waste management and minimisation and will be moved and relocated as needed in response to changes in seasons and circumstance. This is not a new concept. Many other councils and organisations, including the Department of Conservation, follow a similar ‘leave no trace’ principle.
Have other bins around Rotorua been removed?
- 91 out of 660 bins in total have been removed (14%)
- CBD - 45 out 166 (27%)
- Lake and Rural Reserves – 23 out of 71 (32%)
- Urban Reserves - 23 out of 419 (3.5%
Where are the remaining public rubbish bins in Rotorua (excluding CBD)
- 48 are in lake and rural reserves
- 396 are in urban reserves
What is the cost of having the bin collection each week?
When the data is aggregated and split across all bins serviced, the average cost to empty any one litter bin is $4.11 per service.
Further information can be found on Council’s website
