Dual commercial rubbish system supported

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 14, Issue 663, 19 November 1996, Page 3

Dual commercial rubbish system supported

Attempts to have business people accept the Ruapehu District Council's moves to make Raetihi and Ohakune rubbish collection services consistent with Taumarunui have not been successful, the Waimarino Community Board heard last ThUrsday. Environmental asset manager Suzienne Slegers told the board a public meeting had been called the previous evening but the turnout was very disappointing. "It is a pity that so few of the people who are so concerned about the issue attended the meeting," said deputy chief executive Chris Ryan. The council's rubbish collection contractors are now sticking to the policy to only pick up rubbish in official bags.

Member Bob Peck outlined some of the concerns of local business people: • Council should provide a service that is effective. • They question the reasoning behind the use of official bags only, the number of bags provided and the contract. • The system should be user-friendly. • The tip should be open 8am to 5pm daily. • Visitors will never all understand the rules and will continue to leave rubbish, not in official bags, on the kerb, in town bins, over fences and on the road side. • The proposed mobile garbage bins (MGB's) are no good for people with long metal driveways. Ms Slegers said the general view of the public meeting was that the old service should continue at no extra charge. "It's been incredibly easy for commercial people to use a service that was free," she told the board, also stating in her report that the commercial service had been subsidised by people paying the separate rate for rubbish collection (based on 52 official bags a year per property). In her report she cited a government document, the Landfill Full Costing Guideline, June 1 996: "the theory of resource economics says that environmental damage occurs because prices do no reflect the true cost of resource use. It is argued that once prices internalise the full cost of resource use, then the market will adjust accordingly to include environmental damage in the decision-making." Board member Doug Bennett said people had to realise the costs of dumping rubbish had risen dramatically and that they need to contribute more if they are using the service more. The board recommended that the council "facilitate the voluntary use of MGB's and skip bins by business operators in Ohakune and Raetihi for use in conjunction with the kerbside collection if consultation confirms that a demand exists". Such' a system would be on a user-pays basis, operated by the contractor separately from the council.