Ryan Bridge: Why are we paying $80 a year for a bin no one uses?

According to the group who are upset about the monopoly-duopoly that's happening in our grocery sector, you could save, at most per person, about $74 per year. That's if they were to have perfect competition in the sector, which obviously would be very hard to achieve.   

Do you know what else costs you $80 a year? 

A friend and I were chatting at the gym the other day and he showed me his rates bill, which he had kindly brought to the gym to encourage him to run faster. 

There's an $80 targeted rate for the food compost bin. He said, what's that for? And I was like, it's the green bin that's on the street that no one uses. Then he was running faster than I've ever seen him run on the treadmill. 

So apparently 60 to 65% of us don't use them. I know they have them in other parts of the country, in Auckland we've only got them just recently, so we're all getting a bit used to them. But $80 a year is what you have to pay. 

And I got quite angry because if you're on a fixed income, $80 a year is a lot of money. If you're a pensioner and you cannot opt out of this service.  

Who else can charge you for a service that you don't want or need?  

What about a pensioner who does their own composting in the backyard? They can't opt out of it. They have to have this bin, and they have to pay $80 per year for the privilege. 

It's like a barber giving a lady a beard trimmer and saying here, I'm going to charge you for that. I don't need it. Oh, well, you have to have it. Why? Just cause. 

And you know what? They're all made of plastic, these bins, so how's that for the environment? 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So based on the calculations that I have done on
the back of an envelope, which you probably shouldn't trust.
But according to the grocery don't want to call them winges,
but the people the group who are upset about the
monopoly duopoly that's happening in our grocery sector, you could
save at most per person about seventy four dollars per

(00:20):
year if they were to have perfect competition in the sector,
which obviously would be very hard to achieve. Do you
know what else costs you eighty dollars a year. A
friend and I were chatting at the gym the other
day and he showed me his rates bill, which he'd
kindly brought to the gym to encourage him to run faster. Anyway,
there's an eighty dollar targeted rate for the food compost bin.

(00:41):
And he said what's that for? And I was like,
it's the green bin that's on the street that no
one uses. Then he was running faster than I've ever
seen him run on the treadmill. Anyway, So apparently sixty
to sixty five percent of us don't use them. And
if you walk down this is the food scrapspin. They
know they have them in other parts of the country.
In Auckland we've only got just recently, so we're all

(01:01):
getting a bit used to them. But eighty dollars a
year is what you have to pay. And I got
quite angry when I thought about, because we were talking
if you're on a fixed income, eighty dollars a year
is a lot of money. If you're a pensioner and
you cannot opt out of this service, who else can
charge you for a service that you don't want or need.

(01:22):
What about a pensioner who's you know, does her own
or hurt his own composting in the backyard. They can't
opt out of it. They have to have this bin
and they have to pay eighty dollars per year for
the privilege. It's like your barber sending like a barber
giving a lady a bed trimmer and saying, here, I'm
going to charge you for that. I don't need it.

(01:42):
Oh well you have to have it? Why? Just cause?
And you know what, they're all made of plastic, these bins.
So how's that for the environment. For more from News Talks'
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