Best of 2024: 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 I don't want to call
them wings, 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 year if they were to have perfect competition

(00:23):
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 had kindly brought to the gym to encourage him
to run faster. Anyway, there's an eighty dollar targeted rate
for the food compost bin. And he said, what's that for?
And I was like, it's the green bin that's on

(00:44):
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 getting a bit used to them. But
eighty dollars a year is what you have to pay.

(01:05):
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. What about a pensioner who's you know,
does her own or hurt his own composting in the backyard.

(01:28):
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 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.

(01:49):
So how's that for the environment? For more from Early
Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live to news talks. It'd
be from five am weekdays or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio,