Wheelie bins are coming which means from 1 July 2024 Council rubbish bags will no longer be collected kerbside in Marlborough.

Rubbish bags are on “borrowed time”, Council’s Solid Waste Manager Mark Lucas says. “Replacing rubbish bags with the new wheelie bin kerbside collection service will save more than 750,000 rubbish bags going to land fill every year and the wheelie bins - even the smallest 80L size - have a larger capacity than the existing bags,” Mark said.

Council has a limited supply of rubbish bags left and will sell them until supplies are exhausted. Most supermarkets in the region have already stopped selling them.

“People can use up their supply of rubbish bags but from 1 July 2024 these will not be collected from the kerbside. Council will continue to be accept them at transfer stations, the Waste Sorting Centre, or the Resource Recovery Centre but that option will be removed as demand diminishes,” Mark said.

You can redeem your rubbish bag voucher at Council’s Blenheim or Picton Service Centre or get a rebate up until 30 June this year. While stocks last, rubbish bags are available to buy from Council’s Blenheim or the Picton Service Centre either individually ($1.85), in packs of 10 ($18.50) or packs of 52 ($96.00).

The new and expanded kerbside collection service covers Blenheim, Picton, Grovetown, Havelock, Rarangi, Rai Valley, Renwick, Seddon, Spring Creek and Tua Marina with household rubbish collected one week and recycling the next. Two wheelie bins will be delivered to each household from March - one for household waste and one for recycling, except glass, which will now go into the maroon crate currently used for recycling.

“It is exciting the countdown is now on to delivery of the new wheelie bins,” Mark said. “If you live in one of the new areas, you will also be delivered a maroon crate for glass recycling. Don’t use your wheelie bins until the kerbside service starts on 1 July 2024.”

The new bins come in three sizes - 80 litre, 140 litre and 240 litre - chosen by property owners during public consultation in 2022. “Those who didn’t respond will receive the medium-sized 140 litre bin, which is what most people opted for,” Mark said.

Plastics displaying recycling symbols 1, 2 and 5, steel and aluminium cans, metal lids from jars, clean aluminium foil, newspaper, paper and glossies, cardboard (including egg tray and pizza boxes) can all be recycled. Glass bottles and jars will go in the maroon glass recycling crate. The recycling bin and crate for glass will be collected on the same day.

“The maroon crate is only for glass as mixing this with other recycling results in a contaminated product. Recycling is picked up by a compactor truck which will break the glass and then it cannot be separated from the other recycling, adding extra cost. This is also a safety issue for our contractors,” Mark said.

The kerbside rubbish collection is funded through a targeted rate and therefore there is no opportunity to opt out of the service. The calculation of the targeted rate includes all costs associated with the service, divided by the number of households within the service area. This ensures that all households within that area pay the same amount.

Mark said there had been some minor changes to the collection days for some properties. “This has been completed for the safety of the operators. Please refer to Council’s website to check if you live in a collection area and to confirm your collection day,” he said.

For more information go to Council’s Smart Maps page: https://links.marlborough.govt.nz/kerbside If you have questions about the new system go to: links.marlborough.govt.nz/Kerbside-FAQs phone Council on Ph 03 520 7400 or email mdc@marlborough.govt.nz

Waste Management NZ Ltd was awarded the contract for managing Marlborough’s waste collection service early last year.

© Scoop Media