NEWS RELEASE

30 April 2001

AUCKLAND CITY COUNCIL APPROVES GULF ISLANDS REFUSE/RECYCLING COLLECTION AND DISPOSAL CONTRACTS

Hauraki Gulf contractors have successfully won contracts for the collection and disposal of refuse and recyclables from Great Barrier, Waiheke and Rakino Islands.

Five combined contracts worth $8.1 million have been approved by Auckland City Council for the provision of the Hauraki Gulf refuse and recycling services for seven years, starting this July. They represent savings of $416,536 within the Long Term Funding Strategy budget.

Great Barrier Cartage has been awarded the contracts for refuse and recycling collection and landfill operation on Great Barrier Island; Seaways Refuse Ltd has successfully tendered for refuse transportation and disposal on Rakino Island and Cleanstream Waiheke has been awarded the contract for Waiheke Island refuse and recycling collection and transfer station operations.

The tender for the transportation and disposal of Waiheke Island refuse has been withdrawn and as a result no contract will be entered into at this stage. Auckland City Council is meanwhile pursuing interim options for the continuation of this service.

The new contracts provide for additional services to advance the objectives of the council’s Waste Management Plan for the Hauraki Gulf, which aims to

significantly reduce waste on the Gulf Islands through measures including improved refuse and recycling collection services.

Additional services allied to the plan include:

- Higher performance requirements, particularly with regard to customer services

- Increased service levels

- Better environmental standards

- Recycling and recovery of more materials, such as some plastics (Grade 5)

- Greater reporting and management requirements

City Works Committee chairperson Councillor Doug Astley says: “It’s great that local businesses and operators have successfully tendered for the contracts.

“I’m delighted that they have been able to meet the challenge of providing these services in fair competition with other larger operators.

“This is particularly so for Waiheke where the successful tenderer represents a combination of Waiheke and Kaitaia interests in an innovative partnership which has produced a proposal of excellent quality.”

The co-operative, Cleanstream Waiheke, brings together the Waiheke-based Waste ResourcesTrust (a small group which provides advice on waste management issues to the Waiheke community) and the Kaitaia-based Community Business and Environment Centre (which has 10 years’ waste management experience and provides refuse and recycling services to the Far North District Council).

Seaways Refuse Ltd is a one person owner/operator with 29 years of commercial marine experience and Great Barrier Cartage is a small jointly family owned and operated cartage company, which provides mainly refuse and recycling services exclusively to Great Barrier Island.

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“These are extremely complex contracts and it is significant that they have been awarded to predominantly locals,” Councillor Astley says. “It is something of a victory for the smaller operators who stacked up very well against their bigger competitors.”

Faye Storer, councillor for the Hauraki Gulf Islands Ward, says it proves that community-based groups can approach such matters professionally and succeed against the odds.

“This is a win-win situation for everyone,” she says. “Now it is up to every resident in the Hauraki Gulf to help make this work.”

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

- Councillor Doug Astley, Auckland City Council, tel: 6204923 or 025 2970 494 and

- Councillor Faye Storer, Auckland City Council, tel: 372 9702.

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