Porirua aims to cut landfill waste by a third

Porirua City and the other seven Councils in the Wellington region have a new joint plan aiming to reduce waste sent to landfills by a third over the next 10 years.

The City Direction Committee today recommended the Council adopt the Wellington Region Waste Management and Minimisation Plan 2017-2023.

The eight councils in the region worked together to develop the plan, which sets regional targets, and regional and local actions for councils to work towards over a 10-year period.

City Direction Chairperson Councillor ‘Ana Coffey said waste minimisation was an important issue for the city now and in the future.

“This new plan sets aspirational goals for the city and the whole region – to reduce the total amount of waste sent to landfill by one third, from 600kg per person each year, to 400kg per person by 2026,” she said.

“We consulted with Porirua people about the plan and there was strong support for the regional targets and local actions. You’ve told us this is important to you so we will work together to achieve these goals.”

An early local action is to develop bylaws that are consistent with others in the region to help ensure that households, businesses and operators use waste and recycling systems correctly.

Working with our people was a key step to reducing waste, Cr Coffey said.

“During our consultation we had some very good submissions from Porirua schools, with our young people telling us their visions for recycling and reducing waste. We’ve listened and are committed to continuing these conversations with our kids,” she said.

“We’ll continue to support local education initiatives that have a positive impact.

“This includes engaging with local schools through the Enviroschools programme, supporting other education initiatives such as Compost Classroom, providing information and workshops for residents, assisting community groups and businesses to reduce waste and being part of educational projects and campaigns.

“We will also look at our rubbish and recycling services to see where improvements can be made.”

Cr Coffey said the eight councils saw a number of benefits in working together more closely to achieve a common goal.

“Working together will lead to better quality, more consistent and efficient services for waste and recycling. There are also potential cost savings through working together as a region.”

Adopting the plan means Porirua City will continue to receive payments of approximately $200,000 per year to support waste minimisation from the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Levy fund.

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