Do better or risk getting your bin privileges removed. That is the message Waipā District Council will be sending in 2025 to the small percentage of residents causing $360,000 in recycling contamination costs each year.
Councillors have called for a tougher stance on recycling contamination after the figures were reported in the Service Delivery Committee meeting on Tuesday this week.
Group Manager Service Delivery Dawn Inglis said the amount of obviously non-recyclables ending up in the sorting plant was simply outrageous.
“The vast majority are getting it right, and in fact the percentage of people getting it right has gone up. There are some who have good intentions and are really trying to get it right. But it is the 1.5 per cent who don’t seem to care what they throw in their recycling bins that are creating the bulk of the contamination.
“This year we have had everything from dirty nappies to food waste, animal carcasses, live ammunition, helium tanks, and a fire extinguisher put in the recycling.
“It’s no joke, offenders need to understand they are putting lives at risk and costing ratepayers many thousands of dollars,” said Inglis.
“Recycling in Waipā is sorted by hand, by people who live in our community, and who deserve to work in a safe environment. They don’t want to be cleaning up after lazy individuals, and they certainly don’t want to be handling faeces, or potential explosives.”
When contamination is found, bin auditors give those responsible a warning, an education pamphlet, and a chance to do the right thing. The next step is excluding the property from the collection route, and removing the recycling bins.
“A warning doesn’t seem to be enough for some ‘frequent flyers’, who blatantly throw out rubbish to be collected with the recycling,” Inglis said.
“We still need to work through how removing these bins will be managed so people doing the right thing aren’t impacted negatively by recidivist neighbours.”
The tougher stance that will see service suspensions to the small percentage of blatantly offending properties will begin in the New Year.
Residents can report instances of contamination by contacting Council on 0800 WAIPADC (0800 924 723).
