Kerbside or Drop-off?

I am passionate about recycling and at the moment I recycle everything I can at the in-town recycling centre.  I have always liked the idea of kerbside collection and I know that many people in our community feel the same way.

This week I attended a workshop on waste minimisation focusing on recycling options for our community. Material included the costs, advantages and disadvantages of the current drop off centre and of kerbside collection.

It is no surprise that kerbside collection will come at a cost.  In addition to the cost of the collection, collected material is often mixed in together and difficult to separate.  Potentially this "contaminated" recycling won't fetch the same price that our current "clean" recycled material does.

It's not just a simple question of should we or shouldn't we collect from the kerbside and what difference would it make to our rates.  Other important questions include:

• Is the community prepared for the additional cost of kerbside collection?
  
• Should all  urban and rural areas receive the same approach?
  
• Should the convenience of a kerbside collection  be more important than being able to sell all the recycled products for a good price? (currently all products at the recycling centre are profitable)
  
• Is it better to collect as much as possible from a kerbside collection knowing that some will be contaminated and need to be landfilled anyway? (15-30% contamination from co-mingled wheelie bins, broken glass in paper being the main culprit.) However if you keep the glass separate then the contamination rates drop to about 10%.
  
• How can we present this information  in enough detail to allow you to make an informed submission?

Please reply with your comments.  Ask questions and most of all make a submission supporting your view.

I will let you know when the Draft Annual Plan is out and when you need to send in your submissions.