Waste Management Plan 2005 - 08
The Nelson Waste Management Plan (WMP), adopted by Council on 7 April 2005, sets the Council’s future waste management direction.
Download
Download the Nelson Waste Management Plan (663KB PDF).
Minimising waste
The New Zealand Waste Strategy defines waste as: "Any material, solid, liquid or gas, which is unwanted and /or unvalued and discarded or discharged by its owner."
But how much of what goes into the landfill is really of no value? According to a survey almost 90% of the ‘waste’ going into the landfill is either compostable or recyclable – about 40,00 tonnes per year.
So, a key strategy of the WMP is to minimise material going to the landfill, by recycling, reducing and re-using. It sets targets and methods to achieve essential goals:
Recyclables
- 80% of households actively participating in kerbside recycling by June 2007
- User-pays recycling service for businesses by October 2005
Organics
- Reduce amount of greenwaste going to landfill
Know your 5 R's
More efficient and environmentally sensitive ways of considering waste will help to sustain our local resources and our planet for future generations.
REDUCE waste being produced. Think about unnecessary packaging when you buy, choose products that can be re-used or have a long life.
RE-USE Stop and think about whether you already have something to use before throwing things away or buying new.
RECYCLE Does someone else have something you could use that they don't need?
RECOVER benefits e.g. compost food and plant waste and enhance your garden. Investigate a worm farm or composting.
RESIDUE Safely dispose of what waste is left.
Home composting and worm farms
We want to encourage households to use composting and worm ‘farms’ instead of throwing scraps in the rubbish. These save space in the landfill and improve the environment. Council provides a $15 subsidy when residents buy compost bins or worm farms from approved outlets.
User pays commercial recycling
This has not yet been established, due to uncertainty over glass recycling. It is expected that glass will make up a large proportion of commercial recyclables, so a long term solution is required before a service can be offered. Council is working with Nelmac and Fulton Hogan to deveop a local solution to glass recycling.
Table of future aims for waste management
| Item | Targets |
|---|---|
|
Household kerbside recycling service
|
1. All households up to the Hira area, have access to a kerbside recycling service. 2. 80% of households are actively participating in kerbside recycling by June 2007. |
| Commercial and industrial recycling service | Commercial and industrial businesses have access to a user pays recycling service by July 2005. |
| Item | Targets |
|---|---|
| Greenwaste drop off facility | 1. Charge for greenwaste at the Pascoe Street transfer station at the true cost of disposal. 2. Where practicable, provide facilities for the separation and diversion of greenwaste at the transfer station when the disposal cost is equal to, or less than, the cost of disposal to the landfill. |
| Additional greenwaste diversion | Prepare a feasibility report for additional diversion of greenwaste from the landfill, by Dec 2005. |
| Home composting | Provide a compost and worm bin subsidy |
| Item | Targets |
|---|---|
| Community and commercial sector waste awareness programmes | Prepare community and commercial sector waste awareness programmes by June 2005. |
| Solid waste analysis | 1. Carry out kerbside domestic waste surveys on a four year cycle. 2. Carry out baseline landfill survey in 2005/06, and then every three years. |
| Council facilities | Council will establish recycling facilities for the libraries and the Trafalgar Centre by June 2006 and maintain the existing Civic House recycling facilities. Council will investigate and trial the provision of recycling facilities for some Council funded community events in 2005/06. |
Contact
For further information please contact Council on phone +64 3 546 0200.