How should we manage waste & reduce waste?
Waste minimisation is a top priority for Council with our economy and way of life being critically dependent on the health of our environment – we cannot afford to take it for granted.
We have updated our Waste Management and Minimisation Plan (WMMP) for 2025-2031 as required by legislation and we need your feedback!
This six-year plan outlines our proposed strategic approach to how we will manage and reduce waste across the Ruapehu District, aligning with the 2023 New Zealand Waste Strategy and its vision for transitioning to a circular economy.
Our new six-year plan of action has been summarised in the Waste Management and Minimisation Plan (WMMP) Statement of Proposal (SOP) document below. The six key focus areas are summerisied on page 11 of the Statement of Proposal. Our feedback questions focus on these areas.
A full copy of the draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan is available from the Document Links panel below along with a copy of the Waste Assessment that informed the new draft plan.
Why your feedback is important
Your feedback on our draft WMMP will help Council design and deliver waste services that best serve our communities.
Getting the WMMP is right is also critically important to enable opportunities for government funding.
With the Waste Minimisation Fund prioritising activities included in councils’ WMMPs, it’s more important than ever for people to have their say on where our key areas of focus should be.
Our new vision
To help us achieve our targets by 2031, Council has developed a new vision and action plan for the next six years that are aligned with the Government’s Waste Strategy and Waste Hierarchy. Our vision is a local version of the Government’s vision for New Zealand; that
“By 2050 Ruapehu District is a low-emissions, low waste society build upon a circular economy”
Our focus areas for the next six-years
Over the next six years, we’re prioritising six key areas to help reduce waste and improve waste services:
- Promoting waste hierarchy and circular economy principles - Encouraging waste reduction, reuse, and recycling before disposal.
- Diverting more waste from kerbside collection services - Maximising recycling and organic waste diversion to reduce landfill waste.
- Improving waste diversion by visitors and tourists - Expanding and enhancing waste disposal options in high-traffic tourist areas.
- Enhancing waste services for rural communities - Ensuring rural areas have effective and accessible waste management options.
- Increasing waste diversion through the transfer station network - Upgrading transfer stations to improve recycling and waste separation.
- Investigating new initiatives - Exploring a solid waste bylaw for commercial waste, managing erosion risks at closed landfills, addressing medical waste, and developing new waste diversion technologies.
