Waste Minimisation and Management Plan

Council has developed a Waste Management and Minimisation Plan (the Plan) that works towards Working towards a low-waste future and a circular economy.

Our last Plan was adopted in 2017 in partnership with our neighbours Thames-Coromandel District Council (TCDC) and Hauraki District Council (HDC). While our Plan covered the period 2017 to 2023 significant changes in Central Government policies, and in the waste industry sector have resulted in reviewing our Plan in 2020 to ensure it is ‘fit for purpose’.

Consultation has closed on the draft Plan. A hearing was held on 12/13 May 2021 where Council made decisions on the Plan. We would like to thank those that took the time to read the plans and let us know what they think. 

This new plan has been developed for the Matamata- Piako District, to initiate activities within our district to meet our own communities’ needs. It will allow us to incorporate new waste minimisation services that are ‘fit for the future’. It will also allow us to continue to collaborate with TCDC/HDC and other like-minded organisations on waste minimisation initiatives.

Matamata-Piako Waste Minimisation and Management Plan.pdf

Why do we need a plan for waste? 

By law, every Council has to produce a plan to say how they are going to manage their waste. The official term for the plan is a Waste Management and Minimisation Plan (WMMP). We drafted our plan in 2020, and it was reviewed and adopted in June 2021.

In 2019/20, Matamata Piako District sent 12,710 tonnes of waste to landfill. This waste comes from household kerbside waste collections (bags and bins), industrial or commercial activities, and includes commercial, residential and rural residents taking loads to our three transfer stations and, waste taken directly to landfill by private operators. It also includes the tonnage taken out of the district for disposal.

The waste and recycling is managed in different ways – some comes from households and some from businesses. Some is picked up as part of Council or private collections, other waste is taken to transfer stations or direct to landfill.

While we are doing a lot of recycling, we could be doing more.

If we can find ways to get this recycling and compostable material out of the rubbish, then we can save costs on the amount we send to landfill and reduce our environmental impact by recycling or composting these materials instead.

We also need to manage our waste in ways that are cost effective and that protect the health of our communities.

Our vision is to embrace Zero Waste (Para Kore) and the Circular Economy (Ōhanga āmiomio) as an alternative to the traditional linear economy in which we keep resources in use for as long as possible, extracts the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of each service life where possible.

What does the plan cover

The plan covers all of the solid waste that we produce in our districts including material that is recycled or composted.

It covers not just the waste and recycling that the Councils collect or manage through our transfer stations but also what businesses and private operators collect, process and dispose of.

What are the key issues?

In 2020 Council commissioned a Waste Assessment that looked across all aspects of waste management in the Matamata Piako District and identified the main areas where we could improve our effectiveness and efficiencies.

A significant proportion of waste going to landfill is organic waste, with food waste present across all kerbside rubbish collection systems.

• There is a significantly higher proportion of material that should not be going to landfill in rubbish from households with private wheelie bin collections (particularly those with large bins), including organic waste and glass bottles and jars.
• Many households use a wheelie bin service for rubbish rather than use the Council-provided bagged service and send far more material to landfill that could have been recycled, recovered and repurposed.
• There is a lack of facilities to recycle or otherwise divert a range of materials other than household recyclables, green waste, scrap metal and waste for disposal.
• Licensing provisions in the Council waste bylaw are not yet implemented, so there is little data available on private operator activities and non-Council waste streams in general.
• While there are services to manage household hazardous waste, there are no other services.
• Community engagement, understanding and awareness of waste issues could be improved.
• More recyclables could be diverted from both domestic and commercial properties.
• There are no permanent services to recover materials including bulky items, E-waste, rural waste (silage wrap and containers) and there is room for improvement, including collaboration.
• Industrial and commercial waste generally presents scope for increased diversion, with paper/card the main material type currently diverted.

Read the full MPDC Waste Assessment

The next six years: Our proposals to manage our waste

Our overarching vision, goals and targets remain similar to those in the previous plan

Vision: PARA KORE 2038 - ZERO WASTE 2038. 

Goals:

1. A community that considers, and where appropriate implements, new initiatives and innovative ways to assist in reducing, reusing and recycling wastes minimisng waste sent to landfill.
2. Minimise environmental harm and protect public health

Targets: 

Key action areas:

Our action plan includes activities we believe will enable us to achieve our vision for a low-waste future for Matamata Piako. They are summarised below:

1. Leadership and Management - Engage with central government, and work more closely with the community
2. Collections - Maintain kerbside rubbish and recycling, investigate a kerbside food waste collection, encourage garden waste diversion
3. Infrastructure - Retro-fit our Refuse Transfer Stations to become resource recovery parks, and investigate other waste minimisation services that could operate from these sites
4. Education, Engagement and communication - Increase community engagement and involvement. Carry out one-off campaigns where necessary such as for a new
5. service, or significant service changes
6. Data, regulation and reporting -
   • Implement the Waste Management and Minimisation Bylaw 2016, and consider introducing maximum limits for certain materials in household kerbside rubbish collection.
   • Collect data externally through licensing (enabled by the bylaw) and regular surveys. Improve recording and analysis of internal data to enable performance monitoring over time.