1.2 Purpose of this waste assessment - Waikato District Council

3.1.4 Other council servicesIn addition to the services described above, there are other programs or services provide by the council or by apartnership supported by the council. These include:• Kahu’s nest: a shop in Raglan which sells second-hand goods. It is free to drop off re-saleable items.• Enviroschools• Business waste and general waste advisory services.3.1.5 Assessment of council servicesMost refuse collections are either user pays or restrict the volume residents can put out for collection in someway. The only partial exception to this is the collection for rural residents, who are restricted to two bags perweek but can use any sized bag. This allowance is unlikely to be providing any significant pressure to minimisewaste and use recycling drop-off services. Kerbside refuse and recycling collections are provided to the majorityof residents, with only some isolated rural areas not receiving a service.Due to this, rural residents experience less encouragement to divert waste by recycling and to reduce wastethan other residents do.Recycling options extend beyond kerbside collections in some areas, with transfer stations and drop-off centresaround the district. Raglan also has public place recycling bins.3.2 Non-council servicesWith the exception of Xtreme Waste, the council’s contractors also provide private collection services tohouseholds. EnviroWaste Services Ltd collects private wheelie bins at the same time as collecting council prepaidrefuse bags. Metrowaste Waikato collects kerbside refuse from commercial properties.Refuse and recycling collection services are provided to commercial and industrial premises in the district byEnviroWaste Services Ltd, Transpacific Industries Group (NZ) Ltd, Franklin Rubbish Removal, and MetrowasteWaikato. Xtreme Waste provides skip bin and user pays bag services to businesses in Raglan.Garden waste collections are provided by Daisy Garden Bags collecting in and around Ngaruawahia, andGreenfingers Garden Bags and Bins collecting around Tuakau and the outskirts of Hamilton.3.2.1 Assessment of non-council servicesWith very little information on non-council services available, it is difficult to assess the extent to whichservices are appropriate and sufficient for the district’s needs. It is known that some customers in Tuakauand surrounding areas use a MGB collection provided by a private company. Generally the use of privatelycollected MGBs for residual waste results in an increase in waste disposal to landfill 7 .The lack of information and data is the key issue with non-council services. Except in the former Franklin area,there is no requirement for operators to be licensed and they are therefore unregulated beyond national legalrequirements. There is also no requirement for data regarding waste volumes, types, or destination to beprovided nor any system in place to collect this information.3.3 Solid waste bylawThe Waikato District Council is one of the few councils in New Zealand without a bylaw specifically dealingwith solid waste issues. The former Franklin District Council had a bylaw, which covered many waste issues,including a waste operators licensing scheme. Many of the provisions of this bylaw are still being applied to thearea now included in the Waikato district. The council has a trade waste bylaw adopted in 2008, but there isnothing in the bylaw relating specifically to solid waste management.7 Noted through experience by Waste Not Consulting. The payment of a fixed fee regardless of waste quantity (aslong as it is below the limit set by the size of the bin) and the provision of a receptacle often larger than that providedby the council both discourage waste minimisation and use of other options such as recycling.22