Stratford District Council (SDC) started the Waste Levy Fund in 2023 to support new community projects to reduce, avoid, and reuse waste in the district. The $25,000 available each year through the fund, comes from money distributed to SDC through the Government’s waste disposal levy.

Results are in from the first round of projects to receive the funding, and it’s clear the initiative’s already having an impact on waste minimisation, with the reductions set to continue now that new community tools and infrastructure are in place.

Peter McNamara, SDC Waste & Water Education Officer, says, “It’s been inspiring to see what our community can do to reduce waste when given a bit of support. It’s through council and community working together that we’re going to make a real difference to the amount of rubbish we’re sending to landfill. Well done to everyone who has been involved in the mahi; from the organisers to the tamariki getting their hands dirty in the garden.”

“We’re hoping to see a flow-on effect, as others see what’s possible, and it sparks even more project ideas. The 2024 Waste Levy Fund community projects are already underway, and we can’t wait to see how they develop,” says Peter.

Snapshot of 2023

Avon Primary School received $8,995 in 2023 to develop a community garden and composting system. During the year, they composted over 1.5 tonnes of organic waste which was then used in their community garden. Avon Primary School estimates they’ll be able to divert another 2.5 tonnes of organic waste from landfill in 2024.

Stratford Community Childcare Centre’s $7,030 grant for a worm farm, composting system, and garden, got their tamariki and school community actively involved. Over the year, food waste packaging was reduced and none of the centre’s food waste found its way to landfill.

Stratford Repair Café received $2,496 to establish a bi-monthly event for the free repair of community members’ broken items. 150 items have been repaired to date, with over 40 more re-purposed. The Repair Café has moved to new premises with more storage; allowing more types of items to be repaired. They’ve also added a toy swap and actual caffeine-based beverages to the café.

Pregnancy Help Stratford received $3,600 to create a reuse and recycle programme for cloth or reusable nappies in the district. They reused 700kg of cloth; diverting it from going to landfill. And they recirculated reusable nappies in good repair, keeping them out of the bin and reducing the number of disposable nappies being used.

2024 Waste Levy Fund Recipients

In February 2024, SDC awarded $16,814 of Waste Levy Funds to establish five community waste-busting projects.

• Ngaere School: $9,540 for a community recycling station at the school’s entrance
• Enviroschools / Toimata: $1,000 to deliver a Beeswax Wrap programme to local Enviroschools to reduce waste from food packaging and plastic food wraps
• Avon Kindergarten: $349 for a worm farm to reduce food waste and support the kindergarten’s kai garden
• Whangamomona Republic Inc: $4,425.90 for a mobile recycling station on a trailer that can be used by local residents at community events
• Pregnancy Help Stratford: $1,500 to expand their cloth nappy recycling service to include the recycling and reusing of all textiles.

Information about the fund is available at Stratford.govt.nz/WasteLevyFund

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