Auckland Council has a new waste management service aimed at a better city life
The main service changes Aucklanders will see are a new food waste collection service in urban areas, enhanced recycling, and a ‘pay as you throw’ system for rubbish collection across the region. There will be a transition from bags to bins over time in most urban areas.
While the long term goal is to achieve zero waste, the plan has a medium-term goal of cutting Auckland’s kerbside waste by 30 per cent – from 160kg per person per year to 110kg per person per year, by 2018. It is noteworthy that zero waste by 2040 is the long-term aspirational goal in Auckland’s Waste Management and Minimisation Plan. Zero waste means treating waste as a resource, rather than a disposal problem.
Auckland Council’s Regional Strategy and Policy Committee Chairman, George Wood, says Aucklanders should now change the way they view waste as a whole and start seeing it as a resource. “We want to be the world’s most liveable city, and to achieve that we all need to make the most of waste,” he says. “We think this is a challenge that Aucklanders are ready to meet.”
Auckland Council research shows that reducing waste is an important issue for 74 per cent of Aucklanders. Auckland Council Solid Waste Manager, Ian Stupple, says “Our aim is to find alternatives to sending waste to landfill that are better for both householders and the environment.”
Fact Sheet:
· 183,200 tonnes of rubbish is picked up by Auckland Council every year and taken to landfill
· 65 per cent (by weight) of an average household’s rubbish bin or bag could be disposed off in a different way
· 65 per cent of what we throw away can be diverted from landfill as follows: 15 per cent is recyclable; 40 per cent is food waste and 10 per cent is green waste, which can be put to a better use, such as soil nutrient
· 74 per cent of Aucklanders say that reducing waste is an important issue for them
· For 82 per cent of Aucklanders wasting food feels wrong to them
(Source: Auckland Council)