June 15, 2004
North Shore City cleans up
Commercial areas in North Shore City will have litter patrols at least six days a week, under North Shore City
Council's new city cleaning contract.
A decision to award the three-year $5.8m contract to Techscape Ltd was made at the council's works and
environment committee meeting last week.
"Keeping North Shore City clean is a huge and expensive job," Committee chairperson, Joel Cayford, says, "and we
need to ensure we get value for money. "Under this contract we will be able to keep track of exactly
what rubbish trucks are up to across North Shore City, thanks to technological advances. This is a significant advance
allowing staff to monitor contractor activities remotely. "In addition litter patrols will quickly remove
rubbish and graffiti from our most visible public areas, and be a constant presence reminding people to 'be a tidy
Kiwi'," he says.
Under the contract, due to begin in July, commercial centres in Browns Bay, Northcote, Glenfield and Birkenhead
will have a continuous litter patrol in the afternoons, Monday to Saturday. Takapuna and Devonport will be patrolled
every day.
Litter patrollers, wearing easy-to-spot North Shore City Council uniforms, will be responsible for removing
loose litter, graffiti and animal droppings on and around footpaths, kerbs, street furniture, car parks and bus
shelters.
The contractor will also provide a real-time fleet management system, allowing city engineers to monitor the
work and whereabouts of rubbish trucks.
Global positioning system (GPS) devices will be installed in trucks, allowing them to relay information at any
time about their location, direction and stops.
The cost of the contract is not completely covered by the 2004-5 budget, and the shortfall will be made up by a
reduction in the level of service in some areas, or transfers within the Transport operations budget, if and when
savings become available. After 2004-5 the extra funding needed has been budgeted for.
The cost of keeping North Shore City clean and tidy has risen in recent years, because of a rise in illegally
dumped rubbish and vandalism. There has also been the addition of regular litter patrols and other minor increases in
services - the result of feedback from community boards.
ENDS