NEW ZEALAND - The owner of a Golden Bay guesthouse has accused the Tasman District Council of "punishing" those who help the environment by charging them twice for their toilet service.
Peter Finlayson, who with his partner Pete Banham runs Autumn Farm in Central Takaka, told councillors at a submissions hearing on its 10-year plan he should be exempt from paying council pan charges.
The couple pay $450 a year on the pan charge, despite using a compost toilet and a grey water disposal system they installed themselves.
Mr Finlayson said he'd already paid resource consent fees for the greywater system and an annual fee of $325 for discharging grey water onto his land, on top of the annual pan charge.
He said it was "ludicrous" they had to pay the charge towards maintaining a sewerage system when their 4.2-hectare property was not connected to it and the system was "anathema to our environmental beliefs".
"We see no reason why TDC should be allowed to levy us costs twice over for the same service. We are penalised because we didn't wish to be a burden on our environment or be part of a mass system."
He also wants his "forced $3000 contribution" to the Central Takaka sewerage system returned as well.
Mr Finlayson said compost toilets, which are becoming more common in the region, recycled human waste into useful fertile soil. He uses his on the vegetable garden and as a mulch for his fruit trees.
The environmental benefits from compost toilets also included saving an enormous amount of water.
"How does the council expect an environmental awareness to develop in the hearts and minds of its constituents when its very own policies punish folk who walk the talk?"
Autumn Farm also has one flush toilet, for which there is a septic tank.
The guest house and campground hosts up to 50 people during five organised summer events.
Mr Finlayson said most guests approved of the concept behind compost toilets, although some opted to use the flush toilet instead.
Council engineering manager Peter Thomson confirmed that pan charges were made to households that could connect to a mains sewerage scheme whether or not they chose to connect to the system.
He said it would be up to councillors to decide whether to change that policy.
Council environmental and planning manager Dennis Bush-King said all compost toilets and grey water systems had to comply with Australian/New Zealand guidelines regarding solid and grey water waste.
from The Nelson Mail
