Bylaw changes to further support waste minimisation

Western Bay of Plenty District Council is continuing in its mission to reduce waste to landfill, creating a framework for the events, and building and construction industry, to make minimising waste their business as usual.

Council recently adopted the newly updated Waste Management and Minimisation Bylaw, after the community shared their feedback on the proposals in late 2021.

The biggest changes will be for the event management industry. From today (11 April), events of more than 500 people in the Western Bay will need to work with Council to create a plan for how they will minimise and deal with the waste created at their function. This includes the use of recyclable, compostable and reusable material. Following the event, organisers also need to report back.

Western Bay Mayor Garry Webber says “These changes will create a much-needed sense of transparency about where our event waste is coming from and where it ends up. They’ll also help event managers and vendors who are keen to do the right thing and recycle and reuse as much as possible.

“We know this will take some getting used to, but we also know that our community has taken up the challenge to reduce household waste to landfill through our kerbside collection service, so they’ll be keen to support this wero (challenge).”

Event managers should contact Council via info@westernbay.govt.nz, and our team will help work through the requirements for any upcoming events expecting 500 people or more.

Another key bylaw change applies to waste in the building and construction industry.

The change includes a framework that would allow Council to bring in compulsory waste management plans for building and construction projects in the future.

However, Mayor Garry says more engagement is needed with the local construction industry to determine what types of building works should be subject to this requirement.

“This change will have a large impact on the sector which creates around 9.8 percent of all waste sent to landfill (based on a 2016 Waste Assessment).

“Our future work in this space will need to identify appropriate facilities for construction and demolition waste across the District and learn how we can support the industry to recover materials like concrete, timber, plasterboard, brick, and metal.”

Other changes to the Waste Management and Minimisation Bylaw include greater detail in support of the Council-led kerbside waste collection service, which was implemented on 1 July 2021.

Another new requirement is that owners/ developers of multi-unit developments need to provide for the management of all waste and recycling generated within the development. This includes creating arrangements for the regular collection of waste, such as that provided by Council’s Kerbside Collective.

The updated bylaw comes into effect on Monday 11 April 2022.

To read about all of the changes to the Waste Management and Minimisation Bylaw see the decision document, or read the new Bylaw.