A city councillor has expressed concern that Auckland’s weekly rubbish collection could be reduced to a less convenient fortnightly service. A draft of Auckland Council’s Waste Management and Minimisation Plan for 2024 suggests a move to a fortnightly rubbish collection, but only once kerbside food scrap bins are well established.
The council’s aim is to encourage waste reduction. However, Manurewa-Papakura Councillor Daniel Newman believes that the food scraps collection should supplement, not replace, the weekly rubbish collection. He described the proposed change as one of the most inconvenient and unproven suggestions council officers have ever made, and predicted it would be very unpopular with many Auckland residents.
Newman argues that it should be up to Auckland households, not politicians and council staff, to decide whether they need their rubbish collected every week. He accused some councillors of trying to force a behavioural change in Aucklanders by denying them a choice. He also encouraged residents to voice their opinions on the council’s plan, warning that the weekly rubbish collection service could be at risk unless Aucklanders persuade the council to keep it.
The council’s draft also mentioned that it should support residents who are worried about moving to fortnightly collections, particularly those in large households. The New Zealand Herald reported that the reduced service could start from 2026. The aim is to decrease kerbside rubbish from a 2022 baseline of 141kg to 120kg per person by 2028 and to 100kg by 2030. The recent general rollout of food scrap bins is expected to help achieve this by reducing up to 41 percent of bin contents by weight. Currently, the council collects recyclable bins once a fortnight.
The council has admitted to a budget deficit, with potential asset sales and significant rate increases being considered. Some of the council’s shares in Auckland Airport have already been sold, and Mayor Wayne Brown has suggested selling a long-term lease to Port of Auckland and investing the proceeds into a new $3 billion to $4 billion investment fund. However, Councillors Mike Lee and John Watson have criticised the proposal, with Lee calling it “an asset strip” and Watson warning that the city would lose control of a major asset for the length of the lease.
