A pilot bin inspection initiative across Southland has already received a hostile response from some residents, and inspectors are now wearing body cameras to record incidents.
WasteNet contracts manager Mark Simpson told the Infrastructure and Projects Committee meeting yesterday that since starting in February, there had been a couple of incidents of verbal abuse.
Bin inspections were reintroduced to help combat ongoing contamination rates of recycled material being redirected from landfill.
WasteNet director Fiona Walker told the Waste Advisory group committee recently that Southland was among the highest rates in New Zealand - currently 19-20%.
In comparison, Christchurch’s contamination rates of recycling was only 5 to 10%, and so far this year about 4000 bins had been inspected in the south.
She said the new initiative - being trialled from February 10 to March 31 had been mostly positive, and they were also currently starting a ‘three strike’ implementation system.
If a resident received three red tags on their yellow recycling bin in a calendar year their recycling service would be suspended and the bin removed.
“But it has to be significantly contaminated,” she said, and residents would then have to sign and return a service agreement to get their bin back.
WasteNet has decided not to introduce a mandatory penalty or introduce costs to recover the bins, and it was noted that just putting glass into the recycling bins wouldn’t enforce a red tag either.
She said there were some instances in terms of the volumes of glass shards, that meant the bins were contaminated, but they were more targeting ‘gross’ contamination, “such as nappies and other terrible things that do come in.”
Cr Ian Pottinger suggested putting a sticker on top of the yellow bin saying ‘no glass’ would be helpful, but he said it didn’t matter what they did for education, there was only one other option “and that’s throw it over to the neighbours.”