A delay to Rotorua’s kerbside waste collection changes will cost an extra $300,000, but the council says this will not impact ratepayers.
By Mathew Nash of Local Democracy Reporting
The service, including new food and green organics (FOGO) bins, was supposed to start in July.
Supply chain issues caused by a shortage of bin manufacturing materials — linked to the Iran conflict — delayed this start.
Rotorua Lakes Council sought alternative suppliers.
Waste and climate change manager Craig Goodwin said bins were now in production, and expected to be delivered to households from August.
The new system will begin on October 1.
The council’s nine-year contract with Smart Environmental remains in place. However, the switch to New Zealand-owned manufacturer Rotaform will add a one-off capital cost of about $300,000.
Goodwin said this would be "absorbed within the existing contract".
"The kerbside food and green organics collection will cost $27.52 per household in the service area," Goodwin said.
The charge is higher than an early estimate of $24.71 published before rates were struck. Goodwin said the increase was not related to the delay.
The council estimates the service will cost $2.45 million a year.
Goodwin said this was expected to be offset by about $1.6 million in landfill savings, from diverting an estimated 6000 tonnes of waste a year and reducing costs through a move to fortnightly collections.
Under the new system, households will receive a green-lidded bin for food scraps and garden waste, while general rubbish collections will move from weekly to fortnightly.
The council says the change will increase total weekly waste capacity available to households, from 282.5 litres to 292.5 litres.
Residents who need more capacity will still be able to buy extra bins.
Environmental benefits were a key part of the council's case for the service changes.
Modelling the council supplied shows an expected 77% reduction in its organics waste-management carbon footprint, lower than a previously reported estimate of 80%.
The figures, based on 2020 modelling, estimate about 22,000 tonnes of organic material were being sent to landfill each year.
This would fall to about 17,000 tonnes annually when food waste began being separated at the kerbside.
Carbon emissions from organic waste management were also expected to reduce.
The closure of Rotorua's landfill in 2018 has been cited as another reason for the FOGO rollout.
Rotorua sends landfill waste to Tirohia in the Waikato.
However, Tirohia will stop taking landfill waste within the next 12 months, according to a report at last week’s council meeting.
Landfill waste from Rotorua will instead be transported 160km to North Waikato's Hampton Downs.
The council will monitor the FOGO service through participation rates, waste diversion levels and overall reductions in landfill waste, with results reported to its Infrastructure Committee.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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