At yesterday’s Wastewater Treatment Plant and Landfill Joint Committee meeting, I opposed the proposed 6.6% increase to landfill fees.

Not because I want to see services reduced, but because we need to consider smarter, more community-minded options before adding more cost to households.

This would be the fourth fee rise in as many years: 22% in 2022, 23% in 2023, and 13% last year. In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, these increases aren’t just numbers on a page — for many families, it’s yet another cost they simply can’t afford.

When basic waste disposal becomes unaffordable, we all end up paying for it through more fly-tipping, more pressure on services, and more frustration across the community.

Enforcement alone won’t fix this. If we’re serious about reducing illegal dumping, we have to make it easier for people to do the right thing, not harder.

That’s why I asked officers to look at practical alternatives. One option is to provide each Porirua household with a small number of tip passes each year — maybe one, maybe four, like some councils do in Australia. Some people may not use them at all. But others would benefit from having an affordable, easy way to dispose of rubbish properly.

Other councils are already doing this. Kāpiti offers composting vouchers, and Hutt City gives a discount based on how much of your load is recyclable or reusable. These are simple, targeted ways to support residents in disposing of waste responsibly.

It’s not a free-for-all. It could be general waste, recycling, or green waste. There are ways to manage how they’re issued — whether included with the rates bill, or for renters, collected from council service centres. Again, this would be just for Porirua residents.

We also have a landfill account that’s currently running a surplus. So, this is an opportunity to offer something back to residents — a practical gesture that helps keep our city cleaner, reduces illegal dumping, and supports the community without breaking the bank.

Unfortunately, the vote to delay the fee increase and investigate these ideas wasn’t supported. But I’m not giving up.

Because this isn’t just about the dollars — it’s also about the social impact and long-term costs of inaction. We need to think beyond fee hikes and start looking at real-world, workable solutions that ease the pressure on households and reduce the flow-on effects right across the city.

© Scoop Media