Low Carbon Kāpiti supports changes to waste systems that encourage people to reduce the amount they send to landfill and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from waste. Principally, this means organic waste must instead be composted, ideally to produce energy.
- In the circumstances, achieving this requires some combination of:
- changes to laws at the national level to make it more expensive per kilogram to send material to landfill (particularly to those landfills that have low rates of gas capture), give councils additional powers, and put more requirements on those responsible for the sources of waste (e.g. product stewardship, container deposit scheme)
- councils getting directly involved in waste and recycling collection and forming their systems in such a way that encourages recycling and composting (e.g. through the services offered and the sizes of bins provided).
- Without the granting of additional powers to local govt by central govt, council involvement and effective influence necessarily requires them to set up comprehensive rates-funded schemes, to discourage private sector competition based on price, which inevitably runs counter to the objective of waste minimisation.
- The systems that are used to collect waste and recycling must be progressive in that those residents who produce the least waste bear the lowest costs.
- Council has a role in providing additional support to those wishing to minimise their waste (e.g. advice and subsidised wormbins, etc).
- We do not support the return to a plastic refuse bag collection services, principally for health and safety reasons.
(For further information ask Deirdre Kent deirdre.kent@gmail.com )
Background:
- Kapiti Coast District Council’s waste to landfill increased from 2011-2015 by 36%. Per capita it rose 33% (according to the official report)
- The regional plan is to reduce waste by 30% in the next four years.
- KCDC is the only council in the Wellington region where all waste collection is done by private companies. Four companies collect waste and council collects none. Nor does it manage its transfer stations. That is done by two companies.
- This means the council has no control over the pricing of waste disposal. We know that pricing affects behaviour.
- Council makes bylaws governing the behaviour of waste operators and issues licenses to them. These relate to them not creating a public nuisance but also require them to offer recycling services with waste collection services.
- Council does not contract the waste companies to carry out collections. There is no financial relationship. They only issue licenses.
- Council does a regular audit of waste. In its last audit it found that the larger the bin, the bigger the proportion of green waste and recycling that was going to landfill.
- When green waste or food scraps are buried, it produces methane, which as a greenhouse gas is 15-25 times as harmful as carbon dioxide.
- KCDC has no Class 1 landfills in the district. Our waste goes outside our area.
- Low Carbon Kāpiti is no longer actively pursuing a ban on the use of 240 litre wheelie bins for domestic waste collection through changes to the solid waste bylaw.