• Auckland Council rubbish bins were removed to save $9 million.
• Over 800 bins are stored at five depots across Auckland.
• A photo of the bins sparked outrage among residents on social media.

Auckland Council says the rubbish bins seen piled in a central city bin ‘graveyard’ cost $800-$1000 each.

The bins were removed as part of a controversial council plan to save ratepayers $9 million by getting rid of 30% of the region’s public bins.

But a photo of the bins piled near the Auckland Domain was shared on social media where it outraged Aucklanders.

Waitākere Ward Councillor Ken Turner said when he saw the photo he immediately spread it around to colleagues.

“The reaction was a unanimous ‘Oh my God, this is ridiculous and not what we were expecting’,” he said.

“If only I had known it was going to end up in a pile in a paddock, I can only imagine what even just one of these bins cost.”

Locals are outraged after discovering a large “rubbish bin graveyard” on an Auckland central street following the mass disposal of public bins. Photo / Supplied

Now Auckland Council has revealed the answer. In a statement provided to the Herald a spokesperson said the average purchase cost is approximately $800-$1000 per bin.

“We have over 800 bins stored at five depots across Auckland, including the Kari Street depot at Auckland Domain. We plan to refurbish and reuse these in whole or as parts for future needs,” they said.

“There is no cost of storage of the bins at the work yards.”

The spokesperson said they don’t know how much each bin is worth now “as some of the bins were beyond life span”.

However, they said reusing the removed bins would save “between $600,000 and $800,000 over coming years for future bin installations”.

Public outrage following bin removal

The controversial cost-saving bin removal plan has led to concerns by local board members, ratepayers and environmental groups over increased litter.

Bins removed near wharves in Murrays Bay and West Harbour saw complaints of dumped bait bags and dog poo.

The overflowing bin at Hobsonville was blamed on the removal of another. Main Photo / David Baker

One concerned West Harbour resident even marked the removal of a bin with a memorial.

“This is now a grave of what was a perfectly useful and well-placed rubbish bin,” the resident wrote.

In an earlier statement, Auckland Council general manager for parks and community facilities Taryn Crewe said 23% of bins across 16 local boards have been removed so far, representing a forecasted $1.25m net opex savings per year.

Four local boards chose not to remove any bins and pay for their retention.

The council outlined its criteria for which bins were being removed earlier this year:

• Sites having a natural setting where users are more likely to pack in/pack out their rubbish for example bush parks, wetland parks.
• Low-use neighbourhood parks or low-use sections of parks
• Where bins are not co-located with other infrastructure in streetscape
• Where bins have been identified as historically under-utilised, meaning bins are often litter-less when contractors go to empty the bins.

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