Coast community upset by rubbish bin removals

Complaints continue loud and clear over the removal of public rubbish bins.

When Hibiscus Matters reported last year that the bins were to be removed, little feedback was received (HM June 26, 2023) but now that the process is taking place it has caused immense concern.

The proposal was to remove 30 percent of Auckland’s 10,000 rubbish bins. Council staff told local board members last year that this could save around $1.5m per annum.

It equates to the removal of almost 90 bins from public places on the Hibiscus Coast. The bins were to be removed from “low usage areas, areas with multiple bins, or neighbourhood parks that receive active care and attention from residents”. Locally, the removals are largely from Ōrewa, Silverdale and Stanmore Bay, but all areas are affected.

Although the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board was asked for feedback last year, and members had concerns, council was insisting on the changes – its report reminded members that the Governing Body “holds the ultimate decision-making responsibility for the contracts with respect to budget and minimum service levels”.

Members were also told that if the local board did not want to remove bins, it would need to fund the ongoing service for the larger number of bins itself.

However, the move was not only a cost saving measure, with council staff pointing out that people take rubbish home with them from regional parks, where no bins are provided, and that this behavioural change will include other public areas in time.

Signs are proposed to encourage people to take their rubbish and recycling home. 

Local board members noted that new habits take time.

At the Planning, Environment and Parks committee on March 14, councillors questioned staff on whether the savings from bin removals were worth it. 

Customer and Community Services director Dr Claudia Wyss initially asked to take the conversation offline but the number of questions from councillors meant she had to respond publicly. 

Cr John Watson said he was getting a lot of complaints about bins recently and that one of the undesirable outcomes was that in some places rubbish had just been dropped or piled up, creating a hygiene issue.” 

Wyss said there was a notable change in community behaviour. 

“We are seeing an increase in littering right next to bins – we do have an opportunity as Aucklanders to better look after our city,” Wyss said. 

She encouraged Aucklanders to raise concerns about litter through council’s online ‘Report a Problem’ tool. 

Wyss said while it might be possible in some cases to put bins back, that would come with a multimillion-dollar price tag. 

She was concerned that the bin issue could detract from larger matters in council’s 10-year budget, the Long Term Plan (LTP), which is out for consultation now.