Hundreds of Western Bay households may be putting out rubbish without paying for it, prompting a council crackdown on fake pay-as-you-throw tags and a warning that offenders could face a fine of $200.

The warning comes as council figures show 195,500 PAYT tags were sold between October 2025 and April 2026, while 216,165 rubbish bins were collected during the same period, a difference of 20,665 collections, Western Bay of Plenty District Council said in a media release.

While the gap cannot be directly linked to fraudulent tags, council contractors have reported finding more reused and altered tags, prompting concerns about misuse of the user-pays system.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council general manager infrastructure Brad Singh said the PAYT system was designed to encourage waste reduction while ensuring households paid only for the rubbish they produced.

“The idea behind PAYT is simple. The more waste you produce, the more you pay to dispose of it,” Singh said.

“It gives households a financial incentive to reduce what goes into the red bin and make use of recycling and food scraps services.

“We know the vast majority of people are doing the right thing, but using a fraudulent tag means someone is getting a rubbish collection without paying for it.”

The council said fraudulent tags had been discovered in several forms, including tags taped or stapled back together after use, photocopied tags, and tags recreated using similar coloured materials.

Residents caught using fake tags could face a $200 infringement fine.

An example of a correct PAYT tag. Photo / Western Bay of Plenty District Council

The district’s kerbside collection service was introduced in 2021 and aims to divert around 1800 tonnes of material from landfill each year.

Singh said the PAYT model ensured the cost of collecting and disposing of household rubbish was borne by those using the service rather than ratepayers generally.

“PAYT is a fully user-pays service. It isn’t funded through rates, so every red-bin collection needs to have a genuine tag,” he said.

“When people use fake tags, everyone else ends up carrying the cost, which isn’t fair on those doing the right thing.

“We’re increasing our monitoring, and people should be aware that if a fraudulent tag is found, the address will be issued with an infringement.”

PAYT tags have a recommended retail price of $5.20 and are available from supermarkets, participating retailers, council libraries and service centres.

The council is encouraging residents to use only genuine tags, saying the cost of a legitimate tag is far less than the potential fine and helps keep the waste collection system fair for everyone.

Further information about PAYT tags and stockists is available at Kerbside Collective.