Whanganui District Council is seeking feedback on a proposal to introduce a Solid Waste Bylaw after elected representatives gave the consultation the green light at a recent Strategy and Policy Committee meeting.
Council’s waste advisor, Stuart Hylton says many councils use a solid waste bylaw to regulate waste in their districts.
“People working in the waste sector will be interested in giving feedback on this proposed bylaw and it’s relevant to those running large-scale events as well.”
“Currently the council offers guidance on implementing a waste management plan for events but it’s voluntary. With the proposed bylaw, organisers of large-scale events would be required to put a waste management plan in place and report back to the council on it.
“It’s important to note that this would only apply to large-scale events such as the Extravaganza Fair, Masters’ Games and Fest of Cultural Unity,” said Mr Hylton.
He said the proposed bylaw would be a useful tool for waste planning in the district as it would allow the Council to collect data on rubbish collection.
“Under the Solid Waste Bylaw, waste collectors would need to be licensed and report to the council with information on rubbish collected. Of course data wouldn’t be specific to individual users and would be used just to get an understanding of waste across the district.”
The bylaw would require any waste disposal facilities that opened in Whanganui in the future to be licensed.
With work well underway to bring in a rates-funded kerbside recycling collection from July, the bylaw would support this as well as general waste planning, said Mr Hylton.
“Ultimately the solid waste bylaw would formalise waste management in our district to make sure we’re looking after the environment as best we can,” he said.
Consultation on the proposed Solid Waste Bylaw is open until midnight on Wednesday, 20 March 2024. For more information, including how to make a submission, click here.
