Hastings local government meeting

13 October 2005

National Environmental Standards

Lifestyle blocks are creating pressures on small water supplies.
We will require up stream management tools to ensure that downstream water uptakes are not significantly affected.
Upstream catchments would be under another council’s jurisdiction and the drinking treatment plan is downstream. Resource consents need to consider downstream effects and territorial local authorities and regional council planners or resource consent officers need to work together.
The Standard is a little retrospective especially if the current activities can affect treatment and plans.
We need a document on how to manage and treat small water supplies. The Ministry of Health has lots of information on this (technical assistance and subsidies).

If a site has been remedied to residential levels will it still be tagged on the Land Information Memorandum (LIM)?
We need to identify where on the land the contamination is.

We need to set examples of farmers of good farm management and practices to encourage other farmers to follow.
We need more voluntary schemes to get farmers to adopt new and better farm management tools.

The New Zealand Waste Strategy is a good benchmark but it needs to be more prescriptive. When the New Zealand Waste Strategy was launched it was inferred that if it was not achieved it would be legislated. We need to legislate and make it compulsory.
Targets in the New Zealand Waste Strategy were already in the regional waste plan. Some targets were too ambitious but they need to be achievable otherwise people will give up. Some of the targets also require clearer wording. We need a national approach to waste but not a dictatorship.

Landfill user pays enable the build up of funds to provide for the after life care of the landfill.
Napier City Council has a Utility Advisory Committee for recycling and landfill and it is looking at whether we can integrate waste management services across the region. Can we have joint waste minimisation and landfill? The targets in the region depend on locality.
Hawkes Bay is effectively applying ‘levy’ on landfill. The levy funds waste minimisation initiatives. There is concern about the outcome of the court case in Auckland because if councils cannot levy waste then what is the future for waste minimisation?
MFE landfill guidelines are a good document.
Many people do not measure or monitor volumes of waste being created and landfilled. Some numbers have been made up.
Landfill will not be accepting liquid soon. There is a 4 year window to provide another solution (e.g. a heat dry process for sludge for reuse in the future but it is difficult to dry biosolids to more than 20% dry solids).

There is a problem with medical waste particularly from rest homes. The waste cannot go to landfill because it is too hazardous (e.g. incontinence pads cannot go to landfill due to medicines taken etc).
The medical waste standard revision is more liberal than the original in saying that the landfill should take the waste. Sending medical waste to a specialised waste disposal unit such as Nuplex in Auckland is too expensive (e.g. it can cost $5000 for 2 months for 1 rest home).
MFE funds the rural collection of AgChems, not the urban. When people shift location and take AgChems with them it becomes an urban issue. The rural/ urban boundary is also blurred.

Product stewardship needs legislation. Should there be a container deposit levy?
There needs to be a New Zealand Waste Strategy for special waste like ‘Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment’. This includes computers and batteries.
Wire waste is a concern for farms, orchards and vineyards. Should it be collected or buried? Is there a better way of managing it? (E.g. scrap dealers). What is going to happen with farm plastics? (E.g. storing containers and baleage wrap).
Construction and demolition waste is increasing. How do we manage it? Are there any national tools to help? (E.g. a national standard). We need to make the waste management plan part of the building plan. Australia is much stricter.

Are we recycling in schools? Schools get bins and pay for disposal. Central schools have waste teachers and waste management plans. Worm farms have been given to some schools. MfE could work with the Ministry of Education to get waste issues into the curriculum.
Are we recycling in hospitals? Cardboard recycling in hospitals has been offered.
We need to develop a set of national resources and templates to promote education (e.g. Taranaki Regional Council’s Agchem book has a good layout and format). Hastings District Council has spent $40k on updating resources but needs to continue.
MFE has bright ideas but does not continue funding (e.g. 2003 litter and waste adverts). Television was expensive and the territorial local authorities could not fund it. We need to think about long term strategies rather than good short term ideas.
MfE needs to look at how to we target Small and Medium Sized Enterprises? They have limited resources and will not do anything if they do not have to.

The Packaging Accord is a good start though a lot of packaging cannot be recycled.
The Tyre Track documentation is misleading. Through reprocessing tyres we reduce the future use of tyres (e.g. they could be used for silage).

Last updated: 17 September 2007