Imagine it. Wheelie bins in Marlborough. It could happen

Marlborough might be getting wheelie bins.

And while some Marlburians (that’s people who live in Marlborough) might be thinking “here we go again”, this time it feels different.

Like, a really big report has been done on it. Heck, open days are planned.

Under the proposal, Marlborough households would get two 140-litre bins – one for rubbish, one for recycling – which would be collected on alternate weeks. Bigger bins would be an option, but at an extra cost.

Households would also get a separate 55-litre crate for glass, which would be emptied fortnightly.

Marlborough – that place that doesn’t do traffic lights either – has ummed and ahhed about wheelie bins for more than a decade, with the cost of rolling out close to 40,000 bins – two per household – a regular sticking point.

Technically, Marlburians can get wheelie bins for their waste if they go through private companies. But this week’s proposal would be a first for the council, so it’s a wheelie big deal. Although, it comes as the Government is looking to standardise kerbside recycling anyway.

The move would allow people in Marlborough to recycle 77% more, and throw away 17% more rubbish, the report to Thursday’s assets and services committee said.

In addition to this, the council would look to roll kerbside collection out to 16% more properties, or just under 2500 more homes. This included homes in Grovetown, Havelock, Rarangi, Rai Valley, Renwick, Seddon, Spring Creek, Tuamarina, Wairau Valley and Ward.

Up to now, people in those places have had to take their waste to the nearest refuse centre. Homes in even more rural areas would still not get kerbside collection.

Renwick, about 10 minutes from Blenheim, was all set for kerbside collection in 2020, before the council back-tracked to keep rates down amid Covid.

Council solid waste manager Alec McNeil told Thursday’s committee the bins would cost an extra $27 a year, for households that already had kerbside pick-up.

The service would cost $160 a year for residents getting kerbside collection for the first time. This figure could still change.

McNeil, who last year tried to get wind-beating “crate liners” into recycling crates as a way around wheelie bins, said it made sense to roll the bins out “in one hit” rather than staggered across the townships.

“It’s a big change, but we’ve got two years to get our ducks in a row,” he said.

He said they had interest from two contractors. Under the proposed 11-year contract they would keep the wheelie bins should they decide to change contractor, McNeil said.

They wanted to separate glass so they didn’t have to change processes at the resource centre, he said.

Councillor Cynthia Brooks said the “cry” for wheelie bins, had been “loud and long” and expected the community would welcome the proposal.

However, she worried there might be some residents who missed out, based on the collection boundaries, and asked if there was some “wriggle room”.

Councillor Jamie Arbuckle agreed, and told council staff not to “underestimate” what Brooks said. But he was “excited” about the proposal.

McNeil said houses not in townships, say between Renwick and Havelock, might be able to sign up for the service by contacting the contractor directly.

“That might be one of the things that comes out of the consultation,” McNeil said.

He thought there might be pockets of homes that were big enough to justify being included in the scheme too.

The committee moved to consult on the proposal throughout November this year. Feedback would be reported back to full council through the 2023-24 Annual Plan process. If the bins were adopted, the contract would start on July 1, 2024.

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air.