At present the cost of picking up and disposing of household rubbish is met by a uniform rates charge, with a coupon system to allocate 52 bags a year to each property.

From April 2004 the Council proposes to halve this, to 26 bags for the year. Households which need more will have to buy approved bags. The price of these bags will cover the cost of collecting and disposing of the waste they contain.

During this year’s discussions to put together the Draft Annual Plan for 2003/04, Councillors decided people needed more time to come to grips with the idea of waster pays and that the principle should be phased in over two or three years.

The Council has an over-all policy of working to reduce and hopefully eliminate the amount of waste the city sends to landfill. This is also Government policy.

In charging for extra bags, the Council hopes to further encourage people to sort their rubbish and to think more about how their household can generate less of it. Recycling, reusing, and thinking about packaging waste when buying goods are keys to cutting down household waste.

The Council is looking at other options for reducing waste. One option being considered is a rates-funded organics wheelie bin collection service. For a start this would be to pick up greenwaste and later would also be used for kitchen scraps. Some time and money will also be spent to encourage more households to adopt improved home composting systems and other ways of dealing with organic waste on their own properties.

Christchurch City Council wants to hear people’s opinions about this proposed move to waster pays. Draft Annual Plan submission forms are available from the Council at the Civic Offices or Service Centres and can be found online at www.ccc.govt.nz/HaveYourSay.

Introducing waster pays will take the Garden City closer to being a sustainable city. Most of the contents of a city rubbish bag can be composted or recycled and turned into useful products that place less of a burden on our environment.

Items people put in their green recycling crates such as glass, plastic and metal are turned into products that generally use less energy to make than using raw materials. Recycling also helps to “close the loop” for these resources. Waster pays will encourage people to keep even more of these resources out of the waste stream and help reduce the impact on the environment of landfills.

Keeping organic matter out of the waste stream is a priority. In landfills it rots and creates methane (a powerful greenhouse gas that promotes climate change) and leachate, a potentially harmful liquid that must be safely managed. Organics can instead be turned into useful compost.

Waster pays will help create the momentum needed to keep people active in these areas, as it has done in places throughout New Zealand that charge separately for rubbish collection.