Eight councils will soon have local action plans aimed at meeting the needs of residents while reducing waste. Photo: Wellington City Council
The new waste management and minimisation plan for the Wellington region is open for consultation.
Eight councils across the wider region have united to improve progress on reducing waste.
Wellington Region Waste Management and Minimisation Plan joint committee chair Councillor Iona Pannett said the group has big ambitions to make Wellington waste free.
The draft plan looks at the next six years and includes a set of regional actions and targets.
Each council then has a local action plan focused on meeting the needs of its community.
The plan sets out practical initiatives to make the Wellington region greener, such as kerbside recycling, food waste collection, organic waste options, litter monitoring, and advocating for better policies at a central government level.
Pannett told RNZ the Wellington region has not managed to reduce much waste in the last decade.
"In fact, recycling volumes are going down across the region.
"We don't have the infrastructure in place to allow people to do the right thing, so that's really the focus here."
Pannett said a major project under the plan was making kerbside organic food collection possible, which was now a government requirement.
"Hutt City has already implemented a plan, so has Auckland.
"In terms of Wellington City, we are getting the sludge out of our landfill which will enable us to do that work."
A food waste bin outside a property in Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
She said ensuring a construction and demolition waste processing facility would be available by 2026 was another priority.
When asked whether working with several councils has been successful, Pannett said it was critical the region worked together to properly tackle the region's waste problem.
"It can be challenging because people have different priorities and different resource levels.
"But waste doesn't observe territorial boundaries and people will dump their waste wherever it's cheapest.
"Also, we don't all need our own organic processing facility or our own three landfills."
She said it would be better to consolidate waste solutions across the Wellington region to save money and be more efficient.
Residents interested in the draft plan can provide feedback [https://www.lesswastegreaterplace.co.nz/
online] until 1 September.
The eight councils involved in the plan are: Carterton District Council, Hutt City Council, Kāpiti Coast District Council, Masterton District Council, Porirua City Council, South Wairarapa District Council, Upper Hutt City Council and Wellington City Council.