Former Councillor says Kapiti must take back waste management
By Alan Tristram
Former KCDC Councillor Lyndy McIntyre says the KCDC has failed in its attempt to privatise waste management. And it must now take
the service back in-house.
Submission on the Kapiti Coast District Council Long Term Plan 2018/38 (Part A)
In her planned oral submission to Council, Ms McIntyre explains why Council should provide a kerbside recycling programme with a Waste Minimisation Incentive
She says: “For those of us who have continued with the remnants of the KCDC provided kerbside recycling scheme the recent announcement by Envirowaste that they are withdrawing has been a bitter blow, but not unexpected.
“It demonstrates the abject failure of KCDC abandoning kerbside recycling to the private sector and the absolute imperative of KCDC restoring a council-provided kerbside recycling service, coupled with a waste collection service which has a waste minimisation incentive.
“Now this experiment has come to an end, we should return to a ratepayer-funded kerbside recycling service, coupled with a waste to landfill collection service with incentivises waste minimisation.”
Background
After EnviroWaste recently announced at short notice that they were discontinuing their service, KCDC issued a Q&A sheet.
Ms McIntyre says the KCDC question and answer sheet does not tell the whole story. It says: ‘In 2012-13 after community consultation, the Council made the decision to exit from kerbside collection services – at the time there were three other contractors also providing the service across the district.
“The reason for this change was that the alternative providers could provide more cost-effective services, at a much lower rate than the council could match. The difference in price was because the council had to cover the costs of providing kerbside recycling to those ratepayers who use the recycling service weekly, but only use the rubbish bag infrequently,” she says.
“I was a KCDC councillor in the 2007-2010 triennium. The scheme to privatise our waste was implemented well before 2012, so any consultation in 2012/13 planning process was well after the horse had bolted.
In fact, KCDC effectively exited kerbside recycling and, perhaps more importantly, waste ministration, in the 2007-10 term after a privatisation proposal was sold to councillors by senior KCDC management.
( Note from the Editor: I remember this well during my term as Councillor, which ended in 2007. We were sold a pup! — Alan Tristram)
Part A ends; Part B tomorrow
————————————————————
Absolutely to all that, Lyndy and Jackie. And Jackie, you need to make a heck of a fuss at Council to ensure that it happens – many many of us will support you. I believe that Janet Holborow was wavering on this after her initial position that Council could do nothing – so let’s all work hard on this.
Prue Hyman
Thanks Lyndy and Alan for the super background information. Especially the accurate dates. This is exactly while I say today that KCDC should provide a fit for purpose waste collection service. This contract has 5 years to run. (Yes it is a contract although even that is now being denied by council) I can not imagine just how out of kilter with our waste minimisation aspirations, any services we have left will be by 2024.