A new scheme to collect food scraps and garden waste separately from other rubbish is being proposed for Wellington.
The Wellington City Council is seeking public feedback on changes to its recycling and waste collection. Photo: (Wellington CC)
The Wellington City Council is seeking public feedback on the idea, among others.
Its waste management and minimisation plan committee wants to reduce regional landfill waste by a third by 2026, bringing the average waste per person to 400kg per year, down from 600kg.
The committee's chairperson, Iona Pannett, said collecting organic waste would cut down considerably on what ended up in landfill.
However, Ms Pannett said the scheme could take five years to set up.
"It would take some years and some more work does need to be done in terms of how it would actually operate and how much it would cost - and there will be a price.
"We also need an organic waste plant and that would need to be built. That would obviously be quite expensive."
She said they were also looking at introducing public recycling bins and the necessity of Wellington's three landfills.
The council was considering collaborating with commercial waste collectors to reduce organic waste, because currently many people paid for large bins and used them without separating types of rubbish.
Submissions close next month.