Auckland Council is proposing a regionwide rates-funded rubbish collection service. For Papakura, this would mean a change from a ‘pay as you throw’ bin tag system to a rates-funded service in 2024.
This proposal gets everyone onto the same pricing structure and fixes an inequity where currently the rates funded areas pay $71 less per year than areas on a user pays service who put the same bin out each week.
Give your feedback as part of Auckland Council’s annual budget consultation – have your say before 28 March.
Good for renters
Moving to a rates-funded model may help renters as landlords are more likely to pay the rates charge than to provide bin tags for the rubbish collection. According to the 2018 Census, seventy-five per cent of Māori people in Tāmaki Makaurau live in rental homes. Renters who buy bin tags, may now also save money because the rates are forecast to be lower than the estimated bin tag costs.
Feedback from community workshops in Papakura showed that larger families and people paying higher rents would prefer to pay for waste through rates.
“It’s really important that when we plan our service, we take all household sizes and income levels into account. Under the new proposal, everyone has access to the same fair and affordable service. Auckland Council’s research found that purchasing tags or a pay as you throw model did not reduce waste tonnages differently than in the rates-funded areas,” says Auckland Councillor Angela Dalton.
Costs forecasted to be lower
Under this proposal, everyone is on the same pricing structure no matter where you live. Auckland Council does not profit from waste services. Any cost savings are passed on to the ratepayers. Rates are set based on the cost of providing the service, which includes collection and disposal.
The rubbish collection service will include a choice of three rubbish bin sizes and costs (80-litre, 120-litre, 240-litre). The rates-funded service is less expensive for households, with the smallest bin estimated to be $124 a year in the FY 24/25 when the proposed change would start.
Kāinga Ora supports the transition to a regional rates-funded model due to concerns about the ability of lower-income households to pay under a pay as you throw model.
Operating the pay as you throw system regionally is more expensive than the proposed rates-funded service would be. The disposal costs are increasing annually for all waste operators due to the waste levy.
The consultation is looking for feedback on whether to proceed with the transition to a pay as you throw system or whether Aucklanders prefer the rates-funded model.
Have your say
Visit akhaveyoursay for more information and to respond to the proposal.
Visit OurAuckland for more details on the waste proposal in the annual budget consultation.
