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WE NEED TO TALK
Me kōrero ngātahi tātou
WE NEED TO TALK
Me kōrero ngātahi tātou
At the end of 2021, we proposed some changes to the way we manage and reduce waste. We’ve now made our decisions on No Time to Waste Tiakina a Papa! Mimiti te Para! which is our plan for reducing waste to landfill, and minimising the harmful effects of waste in our district. Its official name is a Waste Management and Minimisation Plan (WMMP). Our plan contains an overview of what sort of waste issues we’re dealing with in our district, and our goals, objectives, and our action plan to achieve them.
We asked for feedback on changes to our kerbside collections and our action plan to reduce waste. On 14 December 2021, we considered all of your feedback. We then made some changes to our plan, and it has been finalised. For a full outline of our decisions, see the decisions document linked below.
We chose to support Option 2 for kerbside collection from 2023, with some changes to what was originally proposed. From 1 September 2023, kerbside collection will include:
We’ve included a document below which outlines our decision and planned actions. A summary of other decisions we made include:
Read about our decisions, and view our full and final plan below.
(PDF 2.5MB) (PDF 1MB) (PDF 228KB)Thanks for having your say! We received nearly 200 submissions on our draft plan.
Our final plan is now in effect.
Here are some questions we get asked a lot about waste in the district. If you have questions of your own, feel free to contact us through one of our use the feedback form and we’ll answer them.
Currently, meat leftovers should be put in the official rubbish bag for landfill.
Baby wipes should be disposed of in your yellow rubbish bag, which goes to landfill. There are new alternatives on the market, such as B-DÉT, which is a foam which turns toilet paper into a wipe. The product is available in supermarkets – Toilet Paper Enhancer | BDÉT | New Zealand (b-det.com).
Yes! Every little bit you do to reduce the waste to landfill is helpful. Your actions do make a difference. Keep ensuring you only put recyclables into your recycling bins, and rinse them out.
Probably not, as long as you’re only putting recyclable items in your bin and giving them a rinse. Smart Environmental has appointed an Auditor that will be working in front of all side loaders. The Auditor will be easily identified by his PPE and the wording “Auditor” on his clothing. The Auditor is responsible to check for contamination in the yellow lidded bins. In the instance of a contaminated bin, the Auditor will sticker the bin and will have a one-on-one educational talk with the occupier of the property. The property will be flagged and if contamination of the recycle bin continues, the recycling service will be revoked for a couple of months. Unless you’re hiding non-recyclable items in your wheelie bin, as some people do, you’re probably not contaminating the recycling.
We accept plastic 1 and 2, clean cardboard and paper (with no food contact), tin/aluminium cans, and glass. If in doubt – leave it out!
Yes, as long as the collection isn’t contaminated. You can read about the process here: Let’s Talk Rubbish » Hauraki District Council (hauraki-dc.govt.nz)
Recycling companies buy the products from Smart Environmental. Here’s where different products go:
• #1 plastics – Flight Plastics
• #2 plastics – different markets
• Paper/Cardboard – OG Fibre/Kinleith Paper
• Tin – SIMS Metal Management
• Aluminium – Various markets offshore (SIMS) depending on commodity demand
• Hazardous Waste – Tanktest/Haz Tech
• Green waste – Living Earth at Tirohia
No, not in your recycling bin, but you can take bottle tops/jar lids to the Hauraki Reuse and Repair Centre. These products then go to Kidney Kids.
We accept these at our transfer stations. There is no charge for domestic quantities.
We will all generate waste – that’s a given. Research shows that from a waste point of view, the best thing we can do to slow global warming and climate change is to minimise our waste to landfill by separating out our recycling, and keeping organic waste out of landfill. For all of the waste that can’t be diverted, it is ideal to capture, treat, and use landfill gas as an energy source, which is what is currently happening at Tirohia Landfill.
