ITS NOT popular but for now the voucher system for the disposal of household bulky goods will continue.
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Nambucca Shire councillors voted on October 13 for the voucher system in both urban and rural areas to remain in place until the end of the extended waste contract in March 2018.
Included in the tabled report was the statistic that 56 per cent of community survey respondents said they were unlikely to use the service as they did not have a trailer. Only 24 per cent said they would definitely use the service with 15 per cent answering ‘probably’.
Councillors opted to offer one or more three cubic metre cage mounted box trailers located at the Nambucca Waste Facility for use by eligible residents.
Following the meeting General Manager Michael Coulter said while he understood the system was unpopular, it was not feasible to negotiate a new system for the remainder of the extended waste contract.
“It is highly likely the new collection contract will see significant increases in the cost of kerbside collection,” Mr Coulter said.
“Up until now the cost is about $110,000 twice a year plus the added cost of dealing with items that are illegally dumped (about $20,000 pa).
“There are quite a few people who take the opportunity to dump all sorts of waste on public land when the clean-up is scheduled.”
He said the contract extension had offered an opportunity to trial something different.
“This is a more equitable system because it also covers those residents outside the collection areas who have never had access to the service.”
He said the new tender (due for negotiation in March 2017) provided pricing for a number of bulky goods collection options including once and twice yearly or on-call booked kerbside pick-ups once or twice a year.
“Like most things in life the better standards of service will likely come at a higher cost and each council (the contract includes Bellingen and Coffs Harbour City) will need to decide on the trade-off between cost and the standard of service.
“There may be merit from a cost perspective in the three councils agreeing on the same level/type of service. ”
* Obtaining vouchers: these can be ordered from Coffs Coast Waste Service on 1800 265 495. Call Centre staff will obtain name, address, property type & contact details and then forward vouchers via post or local store.
Each voucher has a unique identification number which is assigned to the property, A scanning system is in place at the Waste Facility to collect details on presentation of vouchers.
Mr Coulter said this system helped prevent black market duplications.