Transfer station to charge fee

Press, 29 April 1981, Page 6

Transfer station to charge fee

Christchurch residents will now have to pay to dump garden refuse at the Western Transfer Station. The Christchurch Metropolitan Refuse Disposal Committee last month decided that sorted recyclable material and garden refuse could be dumped free at the Western Transfer Station. However, the committee yesterday amended that resolution. Clean garden, refuse will now be charged for at a reduced rate'Cr D. C. Close said people had to be encouraged to .sort their rubbish before dumping it at the refuse station. A reduced charge should apply for partly . sorted loads of recyclable. material, and clean garden refuse. Dumping should not be free because of the costs involved in treating and disposing of the refuse?. *• Cr f. G. Clark said he did - not believe possible sale returns from recyclable rubbish should be taken into account when considering the transfer stations running costs. The returns . .woulif vary, he said.

I The committee has called > for a fuller and more dei tailed report on whether local bodies should be allowed to dump commercial and domestic rubbish at the I Western Transfer Station > free. ! Staff told the committee ! that Christchurch City Coun- • cil, Heathcote County Council, and Waimairi County Council did not pay for their ! own refuse trucks to use their own tips. If they were required to pay for the use of ■ the refuse station-they might continue to use their own i tips at no charge. Paparua County and Ric- . carton Borough no longer >• ran tips r and they should have ■ itb’ pay some dumping charges although not necessarily at the same rate as commercial operators. The refuse committee would be charged for use of the present tips for disposal of rubbish from the transfer station. Staff recommended that the three local authorities owning tips should not be charged for use of the trans-

fer station. Kiccarton ana Paparua should pay a charge per tonne to recover the cost of disposing their refuse at the Bexley and Sawyers Arms Road tips.

Cr Close said it would be more equitable if all authorities were charged at the transfer station than for the committee to pay the. city and Waimairi for use of their tips.

In his annual report to the committee the chairman, Cr H. A. Clark, said that contributing councils might want to raise loans to meet the cost of capital works.

The committee will write to the councils asking for comment on the continued funding of the committee, including the possibility of raising loans.

CT E. C. Britnell said that Paparua County was not interested in changing from its original decision to fund the scheme from revenue. Mr H. W. Cumberland said that Kaiapoi would not want to enter into any sort of joint loan to raise money.