Rotorua Lakes Council and its new contractor Smart Environmental are working together to implement new waste and recycling services across the district this year.
The contract for waste collection services will see the introduction of wheelie bins and kerbside recycling with Smart Environmental’s first collection set for 31 October.
The company will also operate transfer stations in the district’s rural areas, provide litter collection services in Rotorua and work with the council to establish services in the countryside where there are currently none.
Sustainable Living Portfolio Lead Councillor Janet Wepa says now is a good time to be making changes as Rotorua’s aging rubbish truck fleet needs replacing.
“Reducing health and safety risks – which are high under the current manual collection system – is also a significant driver,” she says.
The 15-year contract does not include management and operation of the district’s landfill. An announcement regarding that contract will happen soon.
“We want to reduce costs, improve services, increase recycling, lessen the amount of rubbish going to landfill and better protect the environment,” says Wepa
“Rotorua people have been asking for kerbside recycling for a long time,” says Wepa. “Recycling centres and transfer stations will also still be available, so we’re going to be providing more services and more options for people.
“As a council, we need to balance the need for a high standard of service with the cost of providing it. Paper bags are quite expensive as very few councils use them now, and the wheelie bins have a long lifespan,” says Wepa.
Council’s director of transport and waste solutions, Stavros Michael, says council and Smart Environmental staff will be collaborating on the roll-out of the new services and community awareness.
“Council has been consulting with rural and lakes communities where there are transfer stations and access issues, and there will be some flexibility in the services so some changes will be possible in future,” he says.
“Meanwhile, we will be talking to rural communities currently not getting any services shortly about what services can establish for them, and information will be going out to businesses about changes for them.
Smart Environmental managing director Grahame Christian says the company is looking forward to working with Rotorua Lakes Council to bring new services to Rotorua residents.
“We look forward to growing our relationship, bringing further innovation and creating new jobs in the Rotorua community,” he says.
“This is to my knowledge, one of the largest and longest term contracts in New Zealand,” says Christian.
He says integrating multiple related services into one contract will provide certainty and bring long-term savings to ratepayers.
“The new services will also see a reduction of waste going to landfill which will reduce further over time,” says Christian.
