Controversial plans to collect food scraps from Whanganui households could be ditched following an extraordinary council meeting.
Whanganui District Council will hold an extraordinary meeting at 5.30pm on Monday to reconsider rolling out the kerbside service.
“We know that this issue has a high level of public interest. We have scheduled the meeting for outside of normal working hours to make it more accessible to the public,” said chief executive officer David Langford.
He said council officers had been directed to prepare a report outlining the pros and cons of going ahead with the service and the risks associated with cancelling it.
In December last year, the Government reversed plans to make food scraps collection compulsory for all councils.
Langford said that decision put councillors “in a tricky situation”.
“The Government’s policy to make it compulsory was a significant factor in some elected members’ decision-making when they gave kerbside food scraps the green light in 2022.
“Each time we have consulted the community, there has been relatively low levels of support for the new service.”
Langford said it was now appropriate for the council to reconsider introducing a new rates-funded service, “particularly given the current economic climate and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis”.
He said the decision won’t be easy for elected members and he asked the community to remain respectful.
“Balancing long-term environmental considerations around waste minimisation and climate change against the immediate economic impact a new targeted rate would have on Whanganui households is challenging.
“Parts of our community are for the service and other parts are against it.
“No matter what decision the council makes, it will be wrong in some people’s eyes.
“It’s okay to disagree, but please do it in a kind and respectful manner as the elected members grapple with a difficult decision on behalf of the community.”
Less than two weeks ago, the council announced that food scraps collection would begin in July as planned, to stop huge amounts of green waste from ending up in rubbish bins.
Audits of Whanganui wheelie bins had shown food scraps make up 30% of waste bin contents and a council survey last year found that fewer than 20% of Whanganui households were composting food scraps.
A kerbside food scrap service would be funded by a targeted rate of about $1.50 per week.
Households could choose not to use the service but could not opt out.
All households in the kerbside service area would be subject to the targeted rate and would receive bins.
A 12-week trial last year targeted 400 households in different areas of Whanganui, with 72% of feedback rating the service as either “very good” or “good”.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
