Ratepayers are being asked to have their say on building a new $3.5 million facility to tackle waste from businesses as part of NPDC’s Top 10 Kōrero, seeking feedback on the big issues affecting the District.

NPDC wants to hear from residents about what they think are the challenges ahead, what’s in and what’s out and how $2 billion of public funds is spent when the 10 Year Plan is put together next year.

Councillor Richard Handley says the District has come a long way on the journey to Zero Waste 2040 in the last five years with residents getting on board and helping to slash the amount of rubbish going to landfill by almost a quarter and it was now time to look at the next stage of that journey.

“Our district is getting cleaner and greener with our Zero Waste 2040 goal and we’ve been leading the way in recycling and ploughing much less rubbish into a hole in the ground. More than half of the rubbish going to landfill is commercial and industrial waste so we’re asking people to give us feedback on how we tackle this,” says Cr Handley.

“A dedicated recycling facility could handle this waste better and would cost about $3.5m to build on Colson Road. Business waste is everyone’s business because we all pay for it and so does our environment. There have been some hurdles but we’re well on the way to Zero Waste and we can clear the obstacles together. ”

Residents are also being asked if more NPDC investment is needed to educate people about how to avoid buying hard-to-recycle plastics.

Cr Amanda Clinton-Gohdes says the past year had been a massive year for the Zero Waste journey with milestones like the opening of The Junction recycling centre and the rollout of thousands of bins to boost recycling and composting. “It’s time to ask if we should go the extra mile with business waste and plastic education, or do we just keep cruising to the landfill with it?”

Head to newplymouthnz.com/TopTen to have your say on the Zero Waste options. Those filling out the short survey will go into the draw to win an iPhone 11. Other topics up for debate in the Top 10 Kōrero over the next nine weeks include the multi-sport hub, thriving towns and cities, climate, Covid-19 and creating a marina.

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