Christchurch residents will soon be asked for feedback on three new proposals aimed at reducing waste and improving how it is managed across the city.

Christchurch City Council will include the ideas in its draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan, along with two related policies, when it seeks public feedback later this month.

The proposals include investigating a separate kerbside collection and processing service for glass bottles and jars, establishing a new team to focus on litter and illegal dumping, and creating a service to help repurpose and extend the life of unwanted household goods.

Council Manager Resource Recovery Alec McNeil said public feedback would be important in helping elected members decide whether staff should look into the proposals further.

“No decisions have been made, and there will be opportunities for people to make written and in-person submissions,” McNeil said.

“If the elected council supports any or all of the proposals, the first step will be to investigate their viability.”

McNeil said only provisional cost estimates were available at this stage, including the potential impact on rates.

“As with any new service, there will be an impact on rates if these proposals come to fruition,” he said.

A separate kerbside glass collection would require residents to have an additional 80 litre wheelie bin, the same size as the small green organics bin. The council would also need extra collection trucks, as the glass bottles and jars would have to be taken to a different processing facility.

“We would need to secure a glass processing facility to pre-sort the glass before it can be transferred to end markets where it can be recycled into new glass products,” McNeil said.

The separate collection and processing of glass is estimated to cost ratepayers between $65 and $75 per household each year.

A new service to work with community organisations to repurpose unwanted household goods would have an estimated cost of $25 per household per year.

Under the draft Litter and Illegal Dumping Policy, a new team would be set up to respond to littering and illegal dumping, as well as strengthen enforcement. That proposal is estimated to cost $4 per household per year.

Waste management is an essential Council service and accounts for an average of 6 percent of Christchurch City Council rates spending. The council has budgeted $549m for waste management in its Long Term Plan 2024 to 2034.

McNeil said the draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan supported the Council’s commitment to reducing waste to landfill through a focus on reducing, reusing and repurposing.

Councils are required to update their Waste Management and Minimisation Plan every six years.