1.2 Purpose of this waste assessment - Waikato District Council

A.3.3Plenary sessionThe plenary session involved canvassing ideas on the overall direction for waste management in the district,with a view to these ideas feeding into the waste assessment, and the development of a vision and set of aimsand objectives for the WMMP. There was also discussion as to the extent to which the council might bemeeting demand for waste management in the district.Many points were noted during this session, and these have been categorised under these topic headings. Foreach heading, the comments made during the session are summarised, and a summary of potential issues forfuture discussion or consideration are highlighted:A.3.3.1Current servicesIn general councillors believe that feedback on services is excellent at the moment and residents appear tobe very happy with the kerbside services provided to them. Comments were made such as ‘council needs tokeep it simple – the current system seems to work’. Some believed that it may be better to make incrementalchanges than to implement complicated solutions – and that it is important to manage waste well at areasonable price.A.3.3.2Facility and processing optionsA few councillors queried whether incineration might be a potential management option. Transfer stationswere also identified as facilities where attention was required – such as addressing perceived operational issues,potentially introducing remuneration-linked KPIs for contractors to improve performance, and reviewing thesystem of gate fees (although there was little consensus on how – with increases, decreases, and variablepricing to encourage recycling all mentioned). A number of councillors mentioned that perceived high costs fordisposal discourages responsible behaviour, with the potential outcome being increased illegal dumping whichis also council’s problem. On the other hand, the point was also raised that there needed to be incentives toseparate waste streams, which is a key to diverting more waste from landfill.A.3.3.3Regulatory approachCouncillors would prefer to have a framework through which people are encouraged to do the right thingrather than ‘draconian regulations’. There was some discussion around the role of the regional council inenforcement and regulation, particularly as this relates to cleanfills, and whether this should be a regional or adistrict council responsibility.Later in the session there was further discussion of illegal dumping and similar problems. There was generalacknowledgement that while more education on this issue was required, the problem was unlikely to go awaythrough education alone.A.3.3.4Council’s visionCouncillors continue to support the vision of zero waste, and would like to see this remain in some form thatcommunicates the concept properly.It was agreed that during the process of drafting the waste assessment, the project team would propose draftvisions for consideration.A.3.3.5Meeting demandCouncillors believe that they are meeting the demand for household waste services quite well. They wouldlike to see contractors operating the transfer stations controlled more tightly to better reduce waste, and forcouncil to lobby central government for product stewardship schemes.A.3.3.6ConclusionThe views received at this councillor’s workshop, and the later stakeholder’s workshop, will be incorporatedin to the draft waste assessment. Certain areas will be emphasised to ensure that the full responsibilities, andpotentially expanded role, of council is appreciated by councillors when considering this draft.62