By Torika Tokalau of Local Democracy Reporting
Several rusty rubbish bins in a South Auckland town centre are in desperate need of replacement, a councillor says.
Auckland Council decided earlier this year to remove under-used public bins from across the city to save money.
However, Papakura was one of only four local boards in Auckland that decided to fund and keep their rubbish bins.
Manurewa-Papakura ward councillor Angela Dalton said Civic Waste Management, a council contractor, told her the bins in the Papakura town centre were rusting down the bottom.
“It’s along the main street of the town centre,” Dalton said.
The local board acknowledged the rusty bins were noticeable, with rubbish bags sitting on the ground.
“It sounded like the [local board] chair knew about that and have requested new inners.
“The way they can do that without cost is because of the removal of rubbish bins throughout the region, which means there are bins in storage which can be used to replace them.”
SPCA Papakura charity shop volunteer Joy Ramsbottom said she didn’t notice the rusty bins in the town centre.
Other shop keepers said there may be some rusty inners, but they didn’t notice any.
Papakura, Manurewa and Franklin local boards from the South, and Rodney from the west, had opted to keep all their public bins, and funded it from their own budgets.
According to council, the retention of bins would cost the four local boards about $270,000.
For Papakura, the board had come up with $58,482 to pay for keeping their bins, it cost Franklin $43,452 and Manurewa Local Board $71,014.
Papakura Local Board chair Brent Catchpole said it made sense that bins removed from other areas could be used to replace the worn bins in other sites.
“We are not certain how many bins that might mean in Papakura,” Catchpole said.
“But, we’re confident our waste people are capable of examining our bins and popping replacements in where they are needed.”
He said council staff had consulted with local boards about the move and his board chose to make a financial contribution equal to what would have been saved in their area so they could keep all our bins.
Dalton said it made sense to her that bins that had minimal use were removed, but not at town centres.
“If its in the town centre, they should stay. People do use the rubbish bins, public areas are really important as well.
“Although the perfect outcome is that people will take their rubbish home which is what we’ve been teaching kids at school too.”
