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Local Government Sector
Local Government New Zealand 
A key focus for Local Government New Zealand has been considering and providing input to the proposed new waste legislation and identifying implementation issues for councils. As the organisation that represents the national interests of councils, Local Government New Zealand has a leadership role in informing councils of key issues, responses and progress of the changes.
The new legislation will introduce significant change to the regulatory environment for waste. Late changes to the Bill mean the role for councils is not entirely clear. Local authorities are concerned that changes to the definition of waste could hinder their ability to effectively assess and manage all aspects of waste to achieve effective waste minimisation in local areas. The Packaging Accord has demonstrated the interest in, and importance of, robust data in order to monitor progress against set targets. Data on recycling is critical and we will be working with central government to ensure that information is available to contribute to waste minimisation planning and activities.
What is clear with the new legislation is that there will be a new regulatory environment for product stewardship. The future of the Accord in this new environment is a topic that will be fully considered by the local government sector in Year 5.
Councils have continued to introduce positive new recycling and waste minimisation initiatives into their communities. This requires them to consider influencing factors such as population size, logistics and local demands on the waste stream meaning that one size does not fit all. Inevitably council decisions on waste management services and contracts can be difficult, high profile and sometimes controversial with the positive outcomes taking time to come through. For example the results of decisions made by Auckland City Council and Manukau City Council last year to introduce a state of the art Materials Recovery Facility will become evident now the site has opened. Christchurch City Council is introducing a new three-bin domestic kerbside collection service that will also incorporate organic waste and is expected to reduce the amount of household waste sent to landfill by one third.
Waste as part of the sustainability agenda was considered at the 2008 Local Government New Zealand conference in a technical session on “smart initiatives for sustainable infrastructure.” The session profiled Tauranga City Council’s experience and the results of their cleaner production programme at a large retail shopping mall.
Local Government New Zealand has supported the Government’s Recycling in Public Places Project. The pilot now involves a significant number of councils and will provide invaluable information and learnings in the costs and benefits of public recycling services. The recommendations on any longer term opportunities for this project are of particular interest.
Support has also been given to the Packaging Council’s Rest and Recycle Christmas campaign by encouraging councils to take up the messages, information and tools provided to promote local recycling during the peak holiday period.
In Year 5 the focus will be on the implementation of the new waste legislation; preparing guidance; informing discussion and sharing information about the new waste management and minimisation plans which are required to be prepared by councils; and input to the identification of priority products for mandatory product stewardship schemes. There will also be considerable interest and input into the review of the NZ Waste Strategy targets which will be a key informant for both local and national targets and initiatives.
Click here to view the 2008 Annual Report [1,186KB pdf].
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