Rubbish scheme to be abandoned

Press, 4 April 1985, Page 5

Rubbish scheme to be abandoned

The Christchurch City Council will abandon its suburban skip recovery scheme. The scheme, which has provided skips twice a year in various locations, would cost $122,500 to run in the next financial year, the council’s works and traffic committee was told last evening. After a decision in December to review the scheme after the FebruaryMarch collection, provision for the scheme was dropped from the budget. An attempt last evening by Cr David Close to have provision made was defeated. Too many people were using the skips when they

could use the metropolitan refuse stations, Cr Matthew Glubb said. Many using the skips were from Waimairi, Riccarton, and Heathcote, rather than the city. The scheme was introduced in 1978 to allow householders to dispose of small loads of rubbish which could not easily be taken to a refuse tip or disposed of in the regular weekly collection. Of the $122,500 cost, $105,000 was to remove general refuse from the skips. Cr Mollie Clark said she believed the scheme served a purpose. People used it and wanted it to continue. Community groups made money from the recycled

rubbish. The council’s streetworks engineer, Mr Bruce Scott, said that the scheme had grown and was unmanageable. The metro refuse stations provided a sevenday service of a better standard. Cr Close said the scheme provided a needed service and gave ratepayers their money’s worth. He asked if $122,500 had been budgeted for the scheme in the next year. When told it had not been allowed for, he attempted to have provision made for the scheme. The motion was lost and the committee voted to simply accept the information on the scheme supplied by Mr Scott.