However, one Dunedin city councillor is already warning his colleagues not to "max out the credit card" on other projects, before detailed options for any new organic waste service are brought to the table.
The comment by Cr Aaron Hawkins came at this week’s council infrastructure and networks committee meeting, as councillors considered a report on organic waste diversion prepared by consultant Tonkin and Taylor.
A covering staff report, by council solid waste manager Catherine Irvine, said the aim was to explore options for reducing the amount of household organic waste — comprising food scraps and garden waste — making its way to the city’s landfill.
An audit of the Green Island landfill carried out in 2012 found 26% of all waste was organic, while a subsequent audit of 100 council rubbish bags last year found organic waste comprised 43% of the contents.
The council had resolved last year to explore ways of increasing resource recovery and waste minimisation, leading to Tonkin and Taylor’s report.
The 30-page report outlined a variety of options for the reduction, collection, processing and sale of organic waste, as well as providing recommended options for the council to explore in more detail.
The options included everything from promoting greater composting at home, drop-off points for organic waste, garden waste or both, right through to a full city-wide kerbside collection service for both.
Depending on the option, the cost of a new service could range from just $10,000 a year to more than $9 million a year.
That, in turn, could add between 1.4% and 6.5% to the city’s annual rates bill, the report said.
However, Ms Irvine stressed Tonkin and Taylor’s figures were highly indicative, based on other centres’ experiences, and had a margin of error of +/- 50%.
More detailed work over the next year would clarify the figures, before councillors considered a shortlist of options as part of wider work on the city’s Waste Management and Minimisation Plan 2019, she said.
Cr Jim O’Malley welcomed the report at Monday’s meeting, saying it served as a "foundation document" for further work.
Cr Hawkins agreed, while expressing disappointment it had not come sooner and warning against excessive council spending on other projects in the meantime, before the budget for organic waste and other initiatives still being developed could be considered.
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Comments
When Cull was re running for Mayor I asked him about the towns rubbish collection and how it wasn't green with diesel truck doing the same job by different companies, his reply to me was the council is in a contract that can't be changed, a while after his election again they changed the tips contract. my reply was all contracts should have a milestones for reviewing and fine tuning contracts. While Organic is a good idea it sticks of 'Greens' and isn't going to solve the bigger problem of increasing costs of rubbish collection. What people want is free wheelie bins, x 3 paid for in the rates and for the council to use its buying power with the two contractors in Dunedin to get such a deal, I'm sure if all rubbish was collected as part of rates the people of Dunedin would not mine a small rate increase to cover it. It is not rocket science Hawkins and Cull. What is so hard and don't you get?