Residents asked to have their say on rubbish and recycling in CHB

Central Hawke’s Bay District Council (CHBDC) is asking residents to stand up and have their say on how rubbish, recycling and waste is managed in the district this July as part of the Council’s Waste Management and Minimisation Plan (WMMP) review.

Every six years the Council is required to review its WMMP to ensure the services and policies it has in place are performing at their best to keep the district clean and green.  The WMMP reviews all solid waste management services from kerbside rubbish and recycling collections, to transfer stations, drop off points and recycling centres. 

The Council is proposing a new vision for the district which is for a ‘Waste Free CHB’ and wants communities to feed into this vision and shape the services and policies needed to deliver on this vision for the district. 

As part of the review CHBDC undertook a thorough waste assessment to understand the amount of waste generated in CHB and how much of that waste is recycled or ends up in landfill. The assessment also looked at how communities use Council waste services and where improvements could be made to reduce the overall amount of rubbish going to landfill. 

Every year 6700 tonnes of waste goes to landfill in CHB, while another 3000 tonnes of waste is diverted from landfill through recycling and reuse, giving the district a current waste diversion rate of approximately 32 per cent. Of the 6700 tonnes currently going to landfill it’s estimated that a further 38 per cent could still be diverted from the landfill.

The waste assessment also found that a significant proportion of waste going to landfill isorganic waste, with food waste present across all kerbside refuse collection systems.

The revised WWMP sets some ambitious but achievable targets to increase CHBs waste diversion rate from 32 per cent to 48 per cent by 2025, and 70 per cent by 2040. It also aims to increase participation in kerbside recycling from 40 per cent to 60 per cent, and improve community engagement and awareness. 

 Alex Walker, Mayor of Central Hawke’s Bay says: “How we deal with rubbish and recycling is an important topic for our community. We hear about your ideas and issues regularly.

“By doing a thorough investigation into what we are actually producing, we have set some ambitious targets for reducing the amount of waste we send to landfill. This is important for many reasons including improving the management and lifespan of our landfill and reducing its methane emissions. Check out our aspirations for change and contribute your ideas."

Residents can read the draft WMMP and have their say by visiting Council offices or libraries or by calling 06 857 8060.

Public consultation is open until 31 July.

14 January 2022

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