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Whangapoa Molok Waste Drop-off Facility
Memo Information
TO
Mercury Bay Community Board
FROM
David Lindsay - Solid Waste Manager
DATE
23 June 2016
SUBJECT
Whangapoa Molok Waste Drop-off Facility
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Purpose of Report
Seek the Mercury Bay Community Board's recommendation on the future of the
Whangapoa Molok waste drop-off facility.
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Background
The Whangapoa Molok waste drop-off facility has been a contentious issue for some time.
Previous reports cover the history of the facility in greater detail including a report for the
November 2015 meeting of the Mercury Bay Community Board.
Whangapoua has a high proportion of non-permanent residents, many of whom leave the
area prior to the Tuesday collection of kerbside rubbish. A trial installation of three Molok
bins in the central area of the community was provided in 2004 as a drop-off site for
absentee owners and visitors to utilise on non-collection days. Popularity of the Molok
facility increased during the summer peak such that an additional Molok and separation of
recyclable wastes was included in December 2007.
Moloks have been used for inappropriate items such as fish offal and other offensive and
hazardous materials in addition to non-bagged refuse (household items, building waste
etc.). These activities treat the area as a refuse transfer station, but avoid the standard fees
for disposing of solid waste.
In early 2012 the Community Board recommended that the Molok bins be removed and
replaced with a temporary collection point at the Te Rerenga-SH25 site. Following the
Community Board meeting, several residents voiced strong opposition and concerns about
relocating the Molok bins to the Te Rerenga-SH25 site. Given the then upcoming tendering
of the solid waste contract it was resolved that decisions made on the Molok facilities would
be deferred.
In November 2015, a meeting of the Community Board recommended the removal of the
Moloks from their current location and asked Council officers to investigate the options for
mitigating the impact of their removal including relocating the Moloks.
The Community Board recommendation was subsequently taken to the Council's
Infrastructure Committee at its 11 November 2015 meeting who agreed with the Community
Board's recommendation. At the full Council meeting on the 9th December it was resolved
that the Moloks would be removed from the park.
Subsequently it became apparent that appropriate community consultation had not been
undertaken. At a Whangapoua rate payers association meeting in December there was a
strong support for the drop-off facility in its current location. It was resolved that the Council
would work with the local community to try to identify a suitable solution for the relocation of
the drop-off facility.
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Since then further meetings have been held with representatives of the Ratepayers
Association and with a group of residents who live in the vicinity of the Moloks who are
seeking their removal. Both of these groups have encouraged investigation of the
alternative site, which is in line with the resolution of the Ratepayers annual meeting.
Alternative sites have been investigated and a site identified on Te Punga Road at the
quarry entrance that could be a suitable location. A meeting has been held at the site at
which a clear view was expressed by residents that the site was not suitable.
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Issue
The convenience of the existing site is such that it is being used by some residents as the
preferred disposal option instead of the kerbside collection service. Heavy usage of the
facility be residents and visitors is despite the twice-weekly kerbside collections available
during the January-February peak period.
Resident Concerns
The kerbside collection service for Mercury Bay North is on Tuesday. However because of
the high proportion of non-permanent residents, owners and visitors frequently leave their
blue bags and recycling out on a Sunday evening. The length of time that refuse is left
outside gives seagulls and other animals ample opportunity to investigate these bags for
food, often scattering the rubbish. It appears that absentee owners or visitors are often
unaware or unconcerned by the impact of scattered rubbish as the mess is cleaned up by
either Council contractors or permanent residents.
The provision of Moloks allows residents to drop off their waste and recycling. The
popularity of the site has caused new issues for nearby residents regarding nuisances in
particular odour, noise (particularly from glass bottles) and increased traffic.
Residents are concerned that removal of the Molok facility would return them to their
original problems with gulls and litter. In addition they appreciate the convenience and the
opportunity to recycle that the drop-off facility provides. The survey carried out in 2011 had
208 submissions, only 5% of those responses had "removal of the Moloks" as the preferred
solution.
Fiscal Concerns
Goal three of the Council´s 2012 joint Waste Management and Minimisation Plan (WMMP).
plan is:
To manage waste services in the most cost-effective manner
Objective: To work with service providers to identify efficiencies while maintaining or
improving service levels; to consider both short and long term cost impacts of all actions.
The Council incurs a significant extra cost by operating the drop-off sites over and above
provided kerbside collections. The solid waste contractor has been asked to indicate what
rebate could be expected if the Whangapoa drop-off site was removed. As yet they have
not provided an estimate. They have commented that any rebate would be relatively small
due to the extra waste that would need to be collected at the kerbside and the need to
maintain the other drop-off sites (at Matarangi, Opito Bay, Pauanui).
The Ratepayers Association expressed a willingness to pay an additional fee for the
provision of the drop-off service. This issue of charges and rates for solid waste is
something that would be better to be resolved on a District wide basis. The review of the
District´s Waste Management and Minimisation Plan is the appropriate opportunity to
address the issue of funding and it is intended that the review of the Plan will commence
latter in 2016.
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Discussion
Proposed Relocation of Moloks
Various sites were identified during investigations undertaken by KTB Planning in 2013. All
of the sites identified at that time were deemed to be inappropriate after further discussion
with local residents. A new alternative site for Molok bins was proposed in February 2016 at
an area near 175 Te Punga Road. There is a gate to the quarry about 1.1km from the end
of the tar seal on Te Punga road, this area has a turning area already and it is proposed the
turning area would be made bigger and the Moloks installed inside the road reserve. Under
the District Plan the transfer of waste is a permitted activity within the road reserve. This
location is beyond the end of Council maintained road by approximately 400m. Extending
the Council maintained road has associated costs which will depend on the amount of traffic
using the road.
Figure 1: Ariel View of the Te Punga Road site
The advantage of the site is that it is out of town and will not cause nuisance to the
residents and visitors. The number of users of the site would be expected to drop
significantly with a corresponding increase in the use of the kerbside collection service.
The proposed location being more isolated than the current Molok site, therefore presents
an increased risk of the public dumping unacceptable waste. This problem has not been a
major issue at the Opito Bay site which has a similar remote location.
The site was used as the location for a meeting with local residents in May 2016. Strong
opposition to using the site was expressed for a variety of reasons. Reasons given for the
site not being suitable include the increased traffic and inappropriate condition of Te Punga
Road. Other concerns included the high risk of abuse of the site due to its remote location
and the impact that the development of the site might have on future residential
development in the area. The issue of prohibition of development in the flood plain was also
raised.
A provisional cost estimate has been made for the development of the new site:
Set-up Works for Alternative Site
Te Punga Road site
Survey
Earthworks
Retaining wall and hard landscaping
Molok installation
Screening / planting
Total estimated establishment cost
$
$
$
$
$
$
Repositioning of Moloks near current location
2000
3000
2000
7000
1000
15,000
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The current location of the Molok bins is inside the Meri Te Tai Reserve.
Figure 2: Ariel view of the Moloks
It is understood that obtaining retrospective planning permission would be a time consuming
and expensive process, in particular if legal challenges were made and the process went to
the Environment Court. Changing the designations on the District Plan may be a less
arduous solution; an estimate of the cost involved in changing the designations is
approximately $10,000 (a rough estimate from TCDC planning staff). Again this could
become significantly more costly if legal challenges are raised and the Environment Court is
involved.
Figure 3: District Plan (unshaded areas are Road Reserve)
Alternatively the Molok bins could be repositioned to be inside the current road reserve near
their current location. This would present the opportunity to improve the landscaping around
the Moloks and introduce some screening to reduce their visual impact on the neighbouring
properties.
The glass bottle bins would not be reinstated due to the nuisance they cause and the
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amount of space they require. The glass bottle bins are the cause of a significant portion of
the problems at the site. The removal of the glass bottle bins would reduce the nuisance
impact of the drop-off facility. The kerbside collection service for glass is an available
alternative and the storage of glass at an individual's property does not present significant
issues for the householder.
After removal of the Moloks from their current site some reinstatement work will be required.
It is hoped that the reinstatement work and the landscaping for the new location would be
carried out in conjunction with other works that may be required at the park related to the
boat shed/pumphouse building.
The cost of repositioning of the Moloks will depend largely on the quality of the landscaping
work done to screen the facility and reinstate the current location. An estimated cost range
for the work is between $7000 and $13,000.
Removal of the Moloks
The removal of the Moloks is in line with previous recommendations made by the Mercury
Bay Community Board. This option would be the least cost option and, depending on the
way the reserve is reinstated, is expected to cost less than $7,000.
A communications plan has been developed to make residents and visitors aware of the
changes and reinforce messages about appropriate use of the kerbside collection system.
The communications plan includes promotion of the use of gullinators or cages to prevent
animal strike of the bags. In addition the bin return service, to put wheeled bins back onto
properties after they are emptied, which is currently offered by the contractor will be
promoted.
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Suggested Resolution(s)
That the Mercury Bay Community Board:
1.
2.
3.
Receives the report.
Recommends that detailed design work is undertaken for the repositioning of the
Moloks to the Road Reserve adjacent to the Meri Te Tai Reserve to identify costs and
allow for further consultation with the local community.
Recomends that the Moloks waste drop-off facility be removed from Whangapoua