[Moorf]

So, I read on another post that some of you guys aren't having to pay for your bin bags.... :eek :eek

Anyway - thought I'd clarify - we get 26 bin bags free with our rates. Why 26? To encourage us to use the recycle bin more and the bags less:-

To reduce rubbish.

In 2004, Council reduced the bag allocation from 52 to 26 bags per year to encourage people to recycle, compost and generally reduce the amount of rubbish that they throw out. Most of the contents of a typical rubbish bag can actually be recycled or composted. Organics (kitchen and green waste) make up to 46% of an average rubbish bag and, paper makes up to 28%.

By recycling and composting all they can, people should find they can get by with half the number of bags.

We then have to buy any additional bags $26 for 26 if you get them at your local Council service office.

If you put out any bag other than a black official Council bag it will not be taken.

Is this the case throughout NZ or just Christchurch??

[jubjub]

We lived in Waitakere council area, and had to pay $1.20 per black bin bag, available at all supermarkets, no free ones.

However since moving to Manukau, no bin bag charges, we still get the recycle bin for glass and plastics etc, and put newspapers/card out in a cardboard box.

[Tanya]

We then have to buy any additional bags $26 for 26 if you get them at your local Council service office.



$10.95 for 10 at supermarkets for the Christchurch ones :(

Tanya

[Moorf]

Yep, council warns on their site that you will pay more for their bags at supermarkets.

You can buy $5 for 5 or $10 for 10 packs at the council offices too. :nice1

[Tanya]

Fortunately for us, :? Old bloke who lived in house never used all of his so we have about 3 years worth left here! :clap

Tanya

[Tanya]

Yep, council warns on their site that you will pay more for their bags at supermarkets.

You can buy $5 for 5 or $10 for 10 packs at the council offices too. :nice1

Probably cost the 95cents in petrol to go and get them from city :laugh

Tanya

[Moorf]

Use shanks' pony and by the end of the week you could would have saved enough for 2 leeks!!? :eek :laugh

[Tanya]

We have a green wheelie bin for mixed waste(Garden and household) cleared each week so we don't tend to need ours anyway.

Tanya

[sarahw]

We're getting a wheelie bin (this info is only for people buying houses rather than renting since you don't pay rates if you rent) - cost $285 a year including rubbish collection - when you arrange a wheelie bin collection (we're using Waste Management) you get a rebate on your rates from the council (not $265) but whatever they charge for rubbish collection. To be honest most of the stuff we throw out gets recycled or composted - I've arranged the wheelie bin to stop creating the waste from plastic bin bags and to stop critters from splitting the bags on your driveway at night and leaving a lovely mess for you to clear up!

I really think that councils everywhere should be encouraging people to recycle rather than throwing stuff. 'Fraid I also agree with the landfill charging you to dump your rubbish - certainly makes you think twice about chucking stuff out eh?! No wonder the good old Kiwi garage sale is alive & well!

[Moorf]

We're really into recycling now we're here - confess in the UK we didn't care so much but here we sure do rinse, squeeze and recycle :nice1

Good info re wheelie bin - thanks for that. :nice1

So, do we get a mulcher/chipper, extend the compost heap, get a tow bar fitted or get a green wheelie bin? Or all of the above?

Hmmmm

And... do they take "flax" in the wheelies? I know the dump has a fit if they see you trying to dump it as garden waste as the bloomin' stuff doesn't break down (we've got sooo many palm tree/cabbage tree thingys in the garden that I could make baskets for the entire nation for the next decade from what's on the floor!) ... what's the deal with wheelies?

Oh, and any references to basketcases WILL be taken offensively :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh ;)

[GeorgeM]

Fortunately for us, :? Old bloke who lived in house never used all of his so we have about 3 years worth left here! :clap

Tanya

The miserable scrotes who owned our house left us none at all despite leaving only halfway through the year...

[Moorf]

Same here - they cleared off with them - so they obviously didn't read that section of the Council site which states they must remain with the property! :laugh Hmmm, now how policeable is that?! :bobby

It's here in case you want to sue them for the cost of bags they owe you :laugh :laugh http://www.ccc.govt.nz/Waste/RubbishCollection/HouseholdRubbishBagInformation.asp

[miep]

We pay $9 per 10 bags from the supermarket. No free ones. (we're part of Lower Hutt for rubbish collection) I think we'd be hard pressed to go through 26 bags a year, we recycle and compost almost everything we can. Because it's only 2 of us we just don't have that much waste.


Moorf, can't answer you Flax question but have neve seen anyone inspect the contents of a wheelie bin before it got emptied into the truck so that could well be the answer ;)

:cheers Miep

[jubjub]

Just thought I had better clarify something, while we dont have to fork out the money for special council sacks, we still have to pay for normal black bags from supermarket, but they are only about 20-30c each ( as opposed to the $1.20 we paid before)

[Tanya]

And... do they take "flax" in the wheelies? what's the deal with wheelies?


Well this truck turns up & big "hand" thing comes out and grabs the wheelie bin and lifts it and tips it into the truck then it gets put back down - not like in the UK where someone attaches it to the truck - no-one looks at it - the driver does not get out of the truck. And FYI - it's only $260 here in CHCH using Waste Management for the mixed 240litre bin. So you can put anything in - (and we have!)

Tanya

[Tanya]

The miserable scrotes who owned our house left us none at all despite leaving only halfway through the year...

Guess the old man couldn't take his with him where he went :angel

Tanya

[Glenda]

We knew the BoI could be an expensive area property-wise but we have to pay $2 per rubbish bag here bought from the supermarket!!!

Recycling centre is just down the road, though, and it seems to take nearly everything else ... in fact, we are finding it hard to fill two rubbish bags a week.

[Radders]

I think it's a great idea that we all have to pay extra for our rubbish - it puts the problem of waste into perspective, and makes you think about how much we all chuck out. Now if only the supermarkets would start charging for plastic bags, and that anything with heaps of plastic packaging had a plastic tax on it.

[Tara Sage]

You have to pay for your bags in rangiora too, but you don't get any free ones!!!

We have the wheelie bins, one for green wast and one for all the rest they empty them alternate weeks.

Can't remember how much it costs but it is much easier than running out of bags all the time.

[Moorf]

Guess the old man couldn't take his with him where he went

Surprised the old guy didn't ask to be buried in them, they cost that much!

[Mildred]

I once went to a fancy dress party wearing a black bin liner :roll: I was also wearing a dog collar round my neck and ripped fish net tights!!!!!
I was only 20 and was dressed as a punk. Boy was I hot. Didn't matter if I spilt my drinks though :laugh

If only I had kept the bin bag - I could have flogged it on Trademe for a fortune.

I know Moorf would have bid on it :laugh

God, here I go again with my Bloody british humour

http://tcwozere.co.uk/smileys/girl2.gif

[Marie P]

:laugh :laugh :laugh

[Moorf]

You're not going to believe this...... :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh

[Tara Sage]

Believe what?.......

[Tanya]

Believe what?.......

Yeah I am sitting here waiting for the rest of the story too

Tanya

[Moorf]

I too donned a bin bag as a punk at a school disco complete with fluorescent fingerless gloves, dog collar and a "don't smoke too close to me" mohawk :eek :oops:

Didn't everyone?? :uhoh :laugh :laugh :laugh *ahem*

[Tara Sage]

NO not me :?

I must of missed out on the bin bag craze..

[Moorf]

You bloody youngsters :laugh :laugh

[kiwidebs]

Hmmmm? Must've been a British thing? I did wear leg warmers in the 80's :oops: I'm thinking that's probably not quite the same thing.

Debs

[Moorf]

Now, you see, I think you were an "either or" when it came to bin bags :laugh :laugh I suspect the consequences of wearing both bin bags AND leg warmers would be like a Goth at a Wiggles show :laugh :laugh :laugh

[kiwidebs]

:laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh

[Mildred]

Come on you lot - surely it's not only me and Moorf who were into plastic :laugh Actually Moorf perhaps we were at the same party. Mine was in Chichester in the 80's. Most of us at the party were either nurses or police!!! Funny, because my then boyfriend at the time is now an Inspector in Kent Police. Ocassionally I see him on the local news doing interviews. I can still picture him wearing suspenders and the funny wig even now which is brilliant because he turned out to be a right pig :clap The kids think it is brilliant when they come across my old photos :uhoh

[Smiler]

Frances

:eek That was you in Chichester that night then? :nice1

Deborah

[Mildred]

em yep - that was me. Ironic really but their was a massive punch up outside after the party finished :bobby

[Miffy]

We have the following options:

One rent a wheelie bin from one of two companies. Collections on diferent days.

Buy DCC (Dunedin City Council) bin bags availble from any supermarket and use these. Rubish will NOT BE COLLECTED from any other bin bags apart from the DCC ones.

Recyclin is collected BUT all cupboard needs to be packed down and foled and tied together or put into a supermarket carrier bag. The same with news papers.
Plastic, glass and cans are collected but only if put into the official blue box. Which can only be bought from the council.

[Moorf]

Freaky, there I was getting into reading of Frances' plastic fetish parties with coppers in a small Sussex town when suddenly Miffy brings me back to reality and back on topic with wheelie bins!! Brain-jig! :laugh :laugh

Errrm, not me at that party (altho sounded fun :mrgreen: ) mine was in the not-too-far-away plastic-fetish town of Winchester :nice1 sans coppers as I was still at college and so anyone present was a would-be chief constable who was definitely inhaling :bobby :laugh :laugh :laugh

[Mildred]

:laugh

[sarahw]

Ah there's a recycled fashion show on in Auckland later in the year - maybe you should get your binbags out for that!! ;)

Re. what you're allowed to put in wheelie bins - they'll take all your garden waste. Although I do admit - lucky you Moorf with all that flax - was wondering where I could buy some plants to get myself going with some weaving materials!! Just paid out a fortune for woven baskets to put gifts for guests in for our wedding!

I've just had a look at the rules on using a wheelie bin - no concrete, earth, hot ashes or liquids. Sounds reasonable to me!

As for plastic bags - in the Warehouse (where everyone gets a bargain!) they sell bags made from some NZ plant (forget what it is now but looks like cotton) near the tills that are washable & I use those instead of plastic bags for shopping etc. - they're $1.99 each & really hold a lot of weight (I know as I've used one to transport my study books up & down the botanic gardens in daily on my way to work & back).

I seem to remember in the UK when I was small Mum would always take her own bags to get the shopping in since they used to charge for bags - in the whole consumer-aimed companies trying to get your business we seem to have lost sight of doing things that make sense to stop waste because these companies make it so easy for us not to make the effort. The people in our local New World were a bit shocked at first when I handed the packer my own bag to pack but they soon got used to it.

[Simon & Emily]

Are you given boxes for recycled goods, or do you have to pay for them?

Emily

[GeorgeM]

Are you given boxes for recycled goods, or do you have to pay for them?

Emily

In Chch you get a large(ish) plastic box to put your glass/tins etc in, and you can get another free of charge from the council if you wish.

They're normally made of green plastic but the council does a limited edition gold one which is given to super-recyclers. I'm not sure how these are handed out, whether the bin men themselves tip the wink to the council regarding those who do lots of recycling or whether neighbours nominate people.

[Simon & Emily]

Do these boxes have lids? A really boring question, I know, but just wondering, as I'm sure the local wildlife would like to get there hands on some of it ...

[Simon & Emily]

Deleted double post

[GeorgeM]

No, no lids, but this doesn't seem to be a problem.

As tins and bottles should be rinsed out first there shouldn't be anything of interest to local wildlife in them (unless they're looking for old newspapers to flick through)...

[Miffy]

Freaky, there I was getting into reading of Frances' plastic fetish parties with coppers in a small Sussex town when suddenly Miffy brings me back to reality and back on topic with wheelie bins!! Brain-jig! :laugh :laugh

Errrm, not me at that party (altho sounded fun :mrgreen: ) mine was in the not-too-far-away plastic-fetish town of Winchester :nice1 sans coppers as I was still at college and so anyone present was a would-be chief constable who was definitely inhaling :bobby :laugh :laugh :laugh

:laugh :laugh :laugh

I hadn't read the the thread in its entirity :roll: , was short of time and wanted to add my 2 cents on the cost of bin bags.
If I had of read it through, wouldn't have bothered with the boring recycle bin bags stuff but contributed to the punk / fancy dress thing.
Never went to a school disco as a punk (more of a leg warmer type gal) but was in a school play as a punk, and had the whole bin bag experience.
The thing was that although I maanged to wash all the goop out that I used to spike my hair every night, the colour that I sprayed on it stayed in for WEEKS! So everyday I went in wint Pink. blue and green random stripes, much to my mums and teachers horror, but there was nothing they could do about it :mrgreen: