108 21 February 2017
31 January 2017
File: (17/108)
Report no: CPC2017/1/44
Councils of the Wellington Region Draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan 2017 to 2023
Purpose of Report
1. The purpose of this report is to present the Councils of the Wellington Region Draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan 2017 to 2023 document for consideration, and adoption for consultation.
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Recommendations It is recommended that the Committee: (i) notes
that under the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 Council is required to undertake a
waste assessment for its district and develop and adopt a Waste Management
and Minimisation Plan to encourage and promote effective and efficient waste
management and minimisation within its district by (ii) receives the Wellington Region Waste Assessment 2016, attached as Appendix 1 to the report, and the Councils of the Wellington Region Draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan 2017 – 2023 (draft WMMP), attached as Appendix 2 to the report, developed by a regional Governance Group and a senior officer working group, both of which have representatives from the regions territorial authorities; (iii) notes that in its current form these documents represent a consensus of analysis and advice from consultants and Council officers across the Wellington Region; (iv) notes that the Wellington Region Waste Assessment 2016 and the Councils of the Wellington Region Draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan 2017-2023 will be considered by each of the Councils in the region for adoption for consultation as part of those Councils Annual Plan process;
(v) notes that the Wellington Region Waste Assessment 2016 and the Councils of the Wellington Region Draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan 2017-2023 were the subject of a briefing to Council held in December 2016; and (vi) recommends that Council: (a) participates in a regional Waste Management and Minimisation Plan with other territorial authorities in the Wellington Region for the period 2017 to 2023; (b) adopts the Councils of the Wellington Region Draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan 2017-2023 document for special consultation along with the 2017 Annual Plan as presented subject to any final minor changes made to the draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan by the Waste Management and Minimisation Plan Joint Governance Committee at its meeting to be held on 27 February 2017; (c) notifies the Wellington Region Waste Assessment 2016 as part of the consultation process; and (d) notes additional funding of $39,500 per annum for six years will be required from Hutt City Council for the regional initiatives outlined in the draft Wellington Management and Minimisation Plan that Council will cost share on. |
Background
2. The Waste Minimisation Act 2008 (the Act) came into force in September 2008. Under the Act territorial authorities are required to develop a WMMP to encourage and promote effective and efficient waste management and minimisation within its district.
3. The Act sets out specific requirements for councils as they develop a Wellington Management and Minimisation Plan (WMMP), including that they:
· undertake public consultation using the special consultative procedure in the Local Government Act 2002;
· undertake, notify and have regard to a Waste Assessment that meets the requirements specified in the Act;
· have regard to the New Zealand Waste Strategy (published in October 2010);
· consider (in descending order of importance) the following methods of waste management and minimisation: reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery, treatment, and disposal.
4. The Act also requires that any levy funds collected under the Act and allocated to a council only be used on waste minimisation matters and in accordance with the council’s waste management and minimisation plan.
5. The purpose of regional collaboration on the draft Waste Management Minimisation Plan (draft WMMP) is to:
· describe the councils’ collective vision and how they will meet their long- term goals for waste management and minimisation;
· set strategies, objectives, policies and activities to achieve these goals and establish how to measure progress;
· establish a process for identifying possible economies of scale and efficiency gains in delivering waste-related services;
· agree to specific actions where a regional approach is expected to immediately provide benefits (for example a regional education strategy);
· improve the effectiveness and influence of the councils as they work with third parties, including industry and the Government;
· improve regulatory effectiveness and efficiency through working toward consistent regulatory approaches;
· provide general information on how the councils intend to fund the activities of this WMMP over the next six years to 2017; and
· help meet all legal requirements on councils in respect of waste management.
· demonstrate a commitment to work collaboratively across the region on issues that have regional implications.
7. This report presents the Councils of the Wellington Region Draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan 2017-2023 for the Committee’s consideration and recommendation to Council to adopt it for public consultation.
The Wellington Region Waste Assessment 2016 is attached as Appendix 1 to the report. A copy of the draft WMMP is attached to this report as Appendix 2.
Discussion
8. The draft WMMP sets out what the regional territorial authorities intend to do over the next six years to manage and minimise their waste for the benefit of local communities, economies, and the environment.
9. The draft WMMP proposes a regional vision of: “Waste Free, Together”, with the tagline: “for people, environment, and economy”.
10. In preparing the draft WMMP a range of data and information, and legislation has been considered. Some of the key information that has shaped the draft WMMP includes:
· The statutory duty to ensure waste is managed effectively and efficiently, and also minimised.
· Waste to landfills is not reducing.
· Kerb-side recycling rates have been going down over time.
· Food and green waste represent the largest proportion of material going to landfill and potentially the biggest opportunity for reduction.
· There is potential opportunity for TA’s to work together more and jointly deliver best practice waste and recycling services.
11. The Wellington Region WMMP Joint Governance Committee has guided the process of developing the draft WMMP. The Committee consists of elected members appointed from each of the Councils in the region.
12. The Committee determined a regional target for waste minimisation. The primary regional target is: a reduction in the total quantity of waste sent to class 1 landfills from 600kg per person per annum to 400kg per person by 2026.
13. The primary regional target is supported by a number of other regional targets for different sources and types of waste that, if achieved, add up to deliver the overall regional target. The Committee also identified a set of regional actions that we intend to take. These actions include:
· Developing and implementing consistent solid waste bylaws – this will help councils set standards and gather data so they can plan and manage waste better.
· Working together to deliver more consistent and effective forms of regional communications and education around waste services and waste minimisation, so households and communities are inspired and supported to play their part.
· Facilitating local councils to determine, and, where feasible, to optimise collection services so that they maximise diversion and are cost effective to communities.
· Investigating and, if feasible, developing a region‐wide resource recovery network – including facilities for construction and demolition waste, food and/or biosolids, and other organic waste.
· Collaborating with other local government organisations, NGOs and other key stakeholders on undertaking research, lobbying and actions on various waste management issues such as (but not limited to) product stewardship, electronic waste, tyres and plastic bags.
14. To support these regional actions each individual council has also set out their Local Action Plans to deliver on the vision, goals and objectives of the draft WMMP, while at the same time ensuring that they meet the needs and concerns of their own communities.
15. The majority of actions from within Council’s Local Action Plan are taken directly from the Council’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2015-2045 adopted by Council in 2015.
Options
16. Under the Act councils are required to develop and adopt a WMMP by 1 July 2017. A draft WMMP is presented in this report for the Committee’s consideration.
17. The Committee can choose to recommend to Council that:
(i) Council participates in the regional WMMP, or not; and if participating then;
(ii) Council adopts the “Councils of the Wellington Region Draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan 2017-2023 document for special consultation as presented subject to any final minor changes made to the Draft WMMP by the WMMP Joint Governance Committee at its meeting to be held on 27 February 2017; and
(iii) Council notifies the Wellington Region Waste Assessment 2016 as part of the consultation process.
18. The Committee should note that the draft WMMP will be considered by all councils in the region over the coming weeks and that the draft WMMP in its current form represents a consensus on analysis and advice from officers across the region. This means that anything more than superficial changes to the regional components of the document will be difficult (but not impossible) and could delay the adoption for consultation of the draft WMMP.
19. The actions referring specifically to Hutt City Local Actions are more easily amended. Note that the majority of these actions have already been approved as part of Council’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2015 - 2045.
Consultation
20. Senior officers and staff at Council have been involved in the development and review of the draft WMMP.
21. A Council briefing was held in December 2016, the draft WMMP presented by the Committee Chair of the WMMP Officers Steering Group, the Regional WMMP Officer and Council’s Environmental Sustainability Manager.
22. Meetings have been held with two local Iwi Groups, Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust and Ngati Toa. No significant issues were raised at these meetings.
23. A special consultative procedure as outlined in the Local Government Act 2002 is required to consult on the draft WMMP. The Waste Assessment must also be notified as part of this process.
24. The development of this draft WMMP is timed so that each council can undertake the special consultation procedure alongside their draft Annual Plan 2017 – 2018 consultation.
25. Following adoption of the draft WMMP by all councils, each individual council will provide a summary document to residents and provide publicly available copies of the draft WMMP and Waste Assessment. In Council’s case the draft WMMP will be integrated into the Annual Plan summary document.
26. Each territorial authority’s WMMP Joint Governance Committee representative would need to be present when an oral submission on a regional WMMP matter was heard by their TA, and when the WMMP Joint Governance Committee meet to make decisions on regional matters following the hearings.
27. Following the consultation process the committee may recommend amendments to the final WMMP. A subsequent consultation summary and final WMMP report will then proceed to each Council for adoption.
Legal Considerations
28. The Waste Minimisation Act 2008 came into force in September 2008. Under the Act territorial authorities are required to undertake a Waste Assessment of the waste in the district and develop a WMMP by 1 July 2017. There are minimum statutory requirements for both these documents.
29. Section 45 of the Act specifies that one or more territorial authorities may jointly prepare and adopt a WMMP for the whole or parts of their districts.
Financial Considerations
30. The cost of implementing Council’s Local Action Plan as set out in section 10.1 of the draft WMMP will be met from the existing budgets and is funded by the MfE Waste Levy received by Council.
31. In 2016 Council approved funding a Regional WMMP Officer for one year. In order to effectively implement the WMMP over the next six year period it is proposed that the Regional WMMP Officer position is retained. Council’s share of this cost will be approximately $31,200 per annum for the six year period of the WMMP. A total of $187,200.
32. Investigations and actions proposed in section 5.2 of the draft WMMP for the region will cost approximately $250,000 to implement over six years. Council’s share of this cost will be $8,300 per annum for the six year period of the WMMP. A total of $49,800.
33. A grand total of $39,500 per annum for the six year period of the WMMP. A total of $237,000.
Other Considerations
34. In making this recommendation, officers have given careful consideration to the purpose of local government in section 10 of the Local Government Act 2002. Officers consider that this recommendation falls within the purpose of the local government in that it seeks to efficiently manage and minimise waste.
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1View |
Wellington Region Waste Assessment 2016 (Under Separate Cover) |
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2View |
Waste management and minimisation plan 2017-2023 (Under Separate Cover) |
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Author: Jeremy Partridge
Environmental Sustainability Manager
Reviewed By: Gary Craig
Divisional Manager City Development
Approved By: Kim Kelly
General Manager, Strategic Services