Changes to waste collection come into effect
Changes to kerbside collection days for the Council waste collection service come into effect tomorrow (Friday).
New contractors have won tenders for several waste services including the rubbish and recycling collections.
The changes to kerbside collection will affect some residential areas where the current collection day is Monday, Tuesday or Thursday. All affected residents should have received a flyer in their letterbox and maps have been published in the newspaper showing where collection days will change. The information is also on the Marlborough District Council website.
The changes are aimed at improved efficiency, particularly in weeks where Monday is a public holiday and the collection is carried over to the Tuesday.
The Council recently announced the new contracts for waste services would mean significant savings to the ratepayer.
A single contractor, Earthcare, will now be handling both rubbish collection and recycling bins. Roading & Asphalt will take over the management of the Council landfill at Taylor Pass Road while Metallic Sweeping will have responsibility for the transfer stations and resource recovery centre.
Operations and maintenance engineer Stephen Rooney says the only direct impact on the public should be the changes to collection days.
There will be a new scale of fees at the landfill with waste to be measured by weight rather than volume in future. Commercial waste collection companies using the Picton transfer station will also be charged by weight,.
That should have little impact except for the heavier type of cleanfill waste like soils, gravel or concrete rubble, which will become more expensive to dump at the landfill.
Mr Rooney says it’s hoped this will encourage the commercial operators to take this sort of material to a cleanfill site, rather than leaving it at the landfill.
“We’d rather the landfill was being used for its intended purpose and discouraging this sort of dumping should help to extend the life of the landfill,” he said.