Costs estimated for Council-led rubbish and recycling disposal service

Council officials have been investigating estimated costs and potential rates impacts if a decision was made to introduce either a Council-contracted wheelie bin rubbish and recycling service or a service that involved Council purchasing trucks, bins and employing staff.

This follows community-wide discussions about how Council could be involved in Kāpiti’s waste disposal services, following the close down of a plastic bag collection service previously offered by Envirowaste.

Infrastructure Services Group Manager, Sean Mallon, says the high level estimates are indicators only and would need further detailed analysis and firming up of any future agreements or contracts with service operators.

In addition estimates have been made about what direct capital and operating costs would be to Council if a service was set up in-house by purchasing vehicles, bins and employing staff.

“There are two potential options for setting up a Council-led service in the market,” he says.

“We estimate a Council-contracted service, based on existing licensed collector’s charges, plus the cost for Council to lead and administer a service, would see an average annual cost of around $230-$250 to a household at a cost of around $4.6 to $5million per year.

“This figure is similar to what other Councils pay to provide these services and would equate to about an 8 per cent rates increase,” he said.

If Council purchased trucks, bins and employed staff the cost would be closer to $3.2 - $3.8milion in annual operating costs, equating to about a 6 per cent rates increase.

In both these scenarios, existing licensed operators could continue to offer services and influence the market by providing a service at a lower cost than Council.

Both these estimates compare to an estimated average annual cost for wheelie bin services offered in Kāpiti of $200 per household based on a range of bin sizes from 80L - 240L.

In the meantime, Mr Mallon reminded residents of the range of options currently available for waste disposal in our District.

“All of the operators listed on our website provide combined rubbish collection and recycling services.

“People who don’t want to sign up for a bin service can use our transfer stations for both rubbish and recycling, or they could consider sharing bins or trips to the station with neighbours or family.

Council also has a waste minimisation team available to advise people on ways of reducing their waste.