Monitoring under way following rubbish bin removals

Nelson City Council has removed or rationalised bins from some of its parks and reserves following a review of its rubbish collection services and a rise in household rubbish dumping.

Between June and August, 66 of Councils more than 300 bins were removed from local parks, reserves, walkways and esplanades. 

The decision to make this change followed a review of Council’s rubbish collection services last year. A bin audit found that 53% of rubbish found in bins in parks and reserves was from households, which leads to overflowing bins and unscheduled collections that add additional costs to all ratepayers. 

Following the removal of the bins, Council and its contractor Nelmac are monitoring these areas and will consider installing surveillance cameras in areas where household rubbish continues to be dumped. 

The list of areas where bins were removed or rationalised is available via Shape Nelson. 

If you’re out enjoying our beautiful city, please:

Be prepared to take your rubbish and recycling home with you when you’re out and about. This will help stop our public bins from overflowing in popular areas. And if bins are already overflowing, don't add to the pile, take the rubbish home with you.  

Contact Council and let us know if a bin is full or overflowing.  

Reduce and reuse before you recycle and dispose! There are many ways you can recycle items you no longer need and save on landfill fees. 

See our brochure here for advice and ideas.

Don’t put household rubbish in public bins or in the Parks and Reserves. Not only does illegal dumping cost the community a lot of money, it also has a major impact on the environment. 

Report any dumped rubbish to Nelmac at 0800 635 622 | 03 546 0910 as soon as possible so contractors can remove it, or use the Antenno app.

When reporting rubbish, it is very helpful if you supply photos that have a location tag, or state the reserve or park you are in. This can be done by turning on your location services on your smart device before taking the photo. This enables contractors to go straight to the dumping site rather than spending time searching for the rubbish. 

If you witness illegal dumping, do not approach the offenders but do report it to Council, taking notes or photos or videos (if safe to do so) of the person and their vehicle registration can help with identification and prosecution.