Dump hours decision saves $3 per year

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 15, Issue 690, 10 June 1997, Page 3

Dump hours decision saves $3 per year

A decision by the Waimarino Community Board to trim two hours off the extension to the Ohakune dump opening hours will save about $3 per year per ratepayer, off the $132 landfill rate for the Waimarino. The collection rate in the draft annual plan for Waimarino is $68 per dwelling. Environmental asset manager Dilip Dutta estimated the amount of the saving for the Bulletin after the board' s meeting last Thursday. An option considered by the board was that the dump be open in future from 7.30am to 5.30pm weekdays and 9.00am to 5.30pm weekends, but they trimmed those hours back to 10.00am to 6.00pm weekdays (when daylight permits). Previously, the dump opened at 12 noon weekdays which drew much criticism from users. The closing time for the Raetihi dump would be extended by half an hour, for the convenience of business users. The total cost of the extended hours was estimated at $18,000 per year. Also, a supplementary contract to collect rubbish left out in unofficial bags by visitors to Ohakune should be extended to cover Raetihi, they decided. The extra contract was designed to gauge the level of the problem of visitors leaving their rubbish out in unofficial bags, and board member Bob Peck asked that it also take in Raetihi. He has argued on previous occasions that Raetihi also has a problem with winter visitors leaving unofficial bags, which are then left for residents to deal with as the contractor is not allowed to pick them.up. The Ohakune contract costs $4000, but acting chief executive Chris Ryan advised the board that the Ohakune situation involved, a partly voluntary approach by an accommodation booking agency and that it was likely that such an arrangement for Raetihi would be much more expensive.

Debate about wheelie bins surfaced again, with a board member asking why the idea had been thrown out. Apart from the problem of what would happen to chalet owners' bins after they had left town, the board was told the capital cost of the bins and the change in the contract would be.very expensive. "We are supposed to be about refuse minimisation," said Mr Ryan. "If you make it easier, people will pack more into the bins, for example, the grass clippings that they are now spreading around their roses." "If you double the amount going into the tip its life is shorter and the costs increase." Mr Dutta pointed out that the council was bound by law to use practices that minimise waste. Member Robert Horne agreed, but said the council must also offer recycling options for people. Bob Peck said the council should not look to make a profit from rubbish collection and disposal, it should be providing a service. "Don't we want a service that keeps our towns clean?" asked member Raymond Berry. To make it easier for visitors, official bags are to be made available at the visitor information centres as well as the council offices. Also, notices are to be sent out and advertisements are to be placed explaining the council' s service. Asked how much closing the Raetihi dump will save, Mr Dutta said it would save about $30 per ratepayer per year, taking into account the cost of operating a transfer station . It is expected that the Raetihi dump will be full before the end of next year. Other options considered, but rejected, included setting up a rubbish storage point within the town of Ohakune (estimated costs including loss of revenue from trade rubbish and bag saies, $42,000); setting up a storage point at the dump entrance (cost $33,000); picking up all containers , ($28,000).