Community asked for feedback on waste management
The community will be consulted on a draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan, the guiding document to promote and achieve effective and efficient waste management in the Central Otago district.
At the Central Otago District Council meeting held at Alexandra this week (Wednesday 28 February), the Council’s Waste Team presented a report to provide the context for the public consultation, which will take place from Monday 4 March until 7 April.
In September last year, the Council adopted the Otago Region Waste Assessment (WA) at September 2023 Council meeting, which identified the need to update the Waste Management and Minimisation Plan (WMMP). The Otago assessment identified five areas of opportunity to help the district meet its waste reduction and diversion targets:
- Promote waste reduction and diversion targets.
- Keep more out of landfill.
- Improve waste services.
- Work with others to reach our shared goals.
- Reduce impact of waste on our environment.
Council has a target to:
- Reduce waste generation by 10% per person.
- Reduce biogenic methane emissions by 30% per person.
- Reduce disposal to landfill by 30% per person.
- Maintain kerbside diversion above 50% by 2030.
“Our targets could be achieved through activities listed in the WMMP Action Plan,” CODC Infrastructure Manager Quinton Penniall said. "Council is already witnessing encouraging changes following the introduction of the organics kerbside collection in July 2023, a pivotal step towards attaining our targets.
"The implementation of our new four-bin configuration has spurred a shift in waste disposal habits, indicating a positive trajectory. We sincerely thank the community for embracing and supporting these changes to waste collection in the district."
Feedback can be given via the Council consultation platform Let's Talk:Let’s Talk Central Otago (codc.govt.nz).