Why NZ is not as green and clean as you might think

As a rate payer there are a range of services you expect to be provided - collecting rubbish and recycling for example. The kiwi way of doing this is for people to buy special bags at the supermarket and a recycling box and then put them outside the house at the appointed time/day. This way it doesn't cost the councils anything as the contractor funds the service by selling the rubbish bags.

According to the letter we received today from Upper Hutt City Council as a Kaitoke Landowner that there is not even this basic level of service for rural properties (i.e. ours). There's been an informal arrangement for years where the contractor picked up the bags from a collection point but seems that people have been abusing this privilege and its now been removed. Seems the options currently available are to take the rubbish to the landfill or sneak your official bags outside an urban property (asking permission to do so obviously!).

But, the Council are now investigating options to provide rural areas with a refuse and recycling collection service but its going to cost ratepayers and previously rural residents have not been keen to pay the cost. I can see this one running for a while but hope they get it sorted before we move up to Kaitoke otherwise we'll be doing the elicit rubbish dumping outside of urban properties as I do the commuter run to the station.

This slice of local council life gives some explanation as to why NZ is not as green and clean as you might expect.