User pays rubbish collection for remote rural areas

Rural residents in remote areas of the Western Bay having difficulty getting rid of their rubbish can opt to get the private waste contractor Kleana Bins to collect direct from their property – but this will be on a user pay basis.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council has worked with Kleana Bins to set up a collection service for those people in more remote areas who were having trouble with disposing pre-paid bags and other household rubbish since COVID-19 Level 4 lockdown has been in place.

Since closure of all transfer stations under Covid-19 Level 4 lockdown, people living in remote rural parts of the District can no longer drop their pre-paid rubbish bags at previous drop-off sites.

Residents in Mangatoi Road, Oropi and in Maniatutu, Pongakawa and Bush roads in rural Te Puke are most affected.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council has been fielding numerous calls regarding illegally discarded rubbish in rural areas – and also enquiries from people in more remote areas who are at a loss as to where they can dispose of their rubbish.

While Kleana Bins is happy to take on more customers and deliver a door-to-door or Kerbside service, even if they did not service those areas in the past – they remind people that this service is on a user pay basis. They are not picking up pre-paid or other bags for free.

For those people keen to take up the door-to-door collection service by Kleana Bins, please contact the waste collector directly – please do not contact Council.

Kleana Bins can be contacted on: Email: info@kleanabins.co.nz; or phone: 07 576 6171.

Those who don’t wish to take up the Kleana Bin service, can keep their rubbish on site but Council advises that if they choose this option, they need to take the following precautions to minimise odour and health issues:

• rinse meat trays and plastic film before placing in bag
• flush solids from soiled nappies down the toilet and double bag them before putting into rubbish bag
• dig food scraps and kitchen waste into the garden or feed to chooks where possible
• triple rinse milk, cream, jam jars, tins and soft drink containers. Squeeze air out and where possible screw lids back on
• store bags off the ground in a cool area
• store recyclables separately to take to a recycle centre when these re-open.

The public can and should continue to seek assistance from the Council’s Customer Services team by phoning 07 571 8008 or emailing customer.service@westernbay.govt.nz

For more information on Council services during lockdown, visit our dedicated COVID-19 page.