Residents of Keam Way in Welcome Bay are worried the new council rubbish collection trucks will damage their road and they will be liable for the repairs.

Currently their rubbish is collected from James Cook Drive, at the bottom of Keam Way, because large rubbish trucks are unable to access the steep private road due to a lack of space to turn around.

They recently received a letter from Tauranga City Council saying Keam Way has been assessed and it's safe for bins to be collected directly outside the houses.

Because it's a private road, council won't accept any responsibility for wear and tear or general damage to the road caused by the service unless it is caused by negligence.

Liz Hodgson doesn't want large trucks using the road.

She says they've had trucks try and turn around on the road and they've almost tipped because of the weight.

Another resident – Will – is happy, only if the trucks used for the collection are smaller and about four tonnes maximum when fully laden, like the ones used by Kleana Bins.

He says it would be good for the people who are unable to get their bins all the way to James Cook Drive.

Most people on the road are senior citizens and use the plastic council rubbish bags that they drive to the curb.

'You can't expect people in their seventies to be walking down with them [bins],” says Liz.

The new council led rubbish collection starts on July 1, and will consist of a 140 litre rubbish bin, a 240l recycling bin and a 23l food scrap bin to add to their existing 45l glass recycling crate. Food scraps will be collected weekly and the others collected fortnightly.

Liz and her neighbours want to meet with someone from council because she has contacted them several times and not got a response, she says.

'We'd just like it if they could come and talk to us. All we're asking is for some answers.”

Council sustainability and waste manager Sam Fellows says a representative from council and EnviroWaste, the contractor for the new service, visited the road and assessed that a collection vehicle can safely access to pick up collections and turn around within the road.

He says experience from the council kerbside glass recycling service has shown the majority of roads are safe to access with a standard truck but others are not.

Council has been working on solving the challenges around safety for as many of these roads as possible – using smaller collection trucks where they can – in order to make the services as convenient as possible for the community, says Sam.

Council has not confirmed if a smaller truck will be used for collection on Keam Way.

Sam says council is happy to meet with the residents of Keam Way individually to work out the best solution for them.