Media release

Councillors hear community views on wheeled bin proposals

17 February 2017

Hearings concluded this morning on proposals for wheeled bins and more recycling options for Hamilton’s kerbside rubbish and recycling collection.

There were around 2800 written submissions received, a record for the Council, during last year’s two-month consultation period, and those submitters who wished to speak about their views had the opportunity in front of councillors over the past two days.

A report which includes a summary of the Hearings, and the business case for any new service, will be presented to Council’s Growth and Infrastructure committee on 28 March.

Cr Angela O’Leary, who chaired the Hearings, says “We’ve had a great community response to our consultation about the proposals, and over the last two days we have heard directly from a number of residents.

“One of the special features of these Hearings has been the number of people who said this is their first time coming into chambers and being part of our decision-making process. It can be a bit daunting, but the hearings have brought out some really thoughtful and useful contributions, and it’s great to hear directly from the people we represent. The views expressed in the written and verbal submissions will be addressed in the next steps of the process,” Cr O’Leary says.

During the consultation period hundreds of local residents took the chance to look at the bins and discuss the proposals at local supermarkets, libraries and community and advocacy group meetings. Hundreds more provided comments through Council’s social media channels, and Project Manager Emily Botje says this feedback showed Hamiltonians are passionate about the city becoming a leader in waste minimisation, with great support for increasing the options for recycling.

“Our interaction with our community was more than just getting views about the proposals. It’s also been a brilliant opportunity to talk about waste minimisation in general, and how our city can reduce its future costs by diverting waste from landfill,” Ms Botje says.

“The feedback also allowed us to look at issues and concerns raised by the community and identify ways we can address these concerns when we report back to Council.”

The proposed service includes replacing the current black bag collection with separate wheeled bins for rubbish and recycling, while using the existing recycling crates for glass only. A separate food waste collection, using a smaller bin is also proposed.

The proposals are designed to lift Hamilton’s recycling rate from 29 per cent (by weight) to 50 per cent, which under current anticipated growth levels would mean diverting more than 100,000 tonnes of waste from landfill in the 10 years from 2019/20.

As part of any new service it is also proposed there would be assisted collections to help physically impaired or elderly residents and special services for intensive housing areas that cannot be serviced effectively through a kerbside collection service.

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