Availability. This report is available upon request from Council s Fitzherbert Street office PO Box 747, Gisborne

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2 Availability This report is available upon request from Council s Fitzherbert Street office PO Box 747, Gisborne For further information regarding this report contact: Anne Lister - Waste Minimisation Officer Gisborne District Council PHONE: anne@gdc.govt.nz

3 Contents 1. INTRODUCTION GENERAL REGIONAL REDUCTION REUSE AND RECYCLING SECOND-HAND SUNDAYS RECYCLING RURAL TRANSFER STATIONS PUBLIC PLACES AND EVENT RECYCLING COUNCIL RECYCLING AGRICULTURAL WASTE E-WASTE RECOVERY ORGANIC WASTE REFUSE COLLECTION DISPOSAL WASTE STREAM HAZARDOUS WASTE PROMOTION, PUBLICITY, EDUCATION AND FACILITATION SCHOOL EDUCATION OTHER EDUCATION RESOURCE EFFICIENCY MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT SUMMARY OF THE YEAR TOWARDS

4 1. Introduction 1.1 General In 2011, New Zealanders sent around million tonnes of waste to landfill, which is over half a tonne of rubbish per person. Approximately three-quarters of waste disposed to municipal landfills could have been potentially diverted by being recovered, reused or recycled. (From Ministry for the Environment: Quantity of solid waste sent to landfill indicator update, October 2012). To improve the environmental future of New Zealand, we need to look at waste as a resource and find more effective and efficient ways to reduce, reuse, recycle or reprocess it. Waste management is the process of dealing with waste that includes collection, treatment and disposal of domestic, commercial and industrial waste. Waste Minimisation Act 2008 The Waste Minimisation Act 2008 encourages a reduction in the amount of waste we generate and dispose of in New Zealand and aims to lessen the environmental harm of waste. The Act also aims to benefit the economy by encouraging better use of materials throughout the product lifecycle, promoting domestic reprocessing of recovered materials and providing more employment. The Act introduced several new tools for managing and minimising waste. The Act provides: a levy on all waste disposed of at municipal landfills to generate funding to help reduce waste recognition of product stewardship schemes (through accreditation) and the ability to impose mandatory product stewardship schemes clearer responsibilities for territorial authorities in managing and minimising waste. The Act came into force on 25 September 2008 and Part 3 - Waste Disposal Levy came into force on 1 July At the current rate of $10 per tonne (plus GST) the levy generates about $25 million each year. Half of this money is distributed to territorial authorities for waste minimisation initiatives. The rest (minus administration costs) is allocated to projects through the Waste Minimisation Fund It is unknown whether disposal to alternative disposal facilities such as cleanfills (which accept natural materials like clay, soil and rock, and inert materials like concrete and brick) and industrial landfills has increased over time as there is very limited information available. Therefore, changes in waste disposal to municipal landfills could also represent changes in the type of facility that waste is disposed to, rather than changes in disposal quantities. The New Zealand Waste Strategy The two goals of the New Zealand Waste Strategy (October 2010) are: Reducing harmful effects of waste - there is a risk that waste will cause harm to the environment or human health. Reducing the risk of harm means taking steps to reduce the likelihood of it occurring or, if unavoidable, managing its consequences. Improving the efficiency of resource use. Resource efficiency in production could mean reducing and reusing waste products, improving ratio of outputs into inputs, and minimising what needs to be disposed of at the end of a product s life. Resource efficiency in consumption could mean choosing products that are reusable/durable and able to be repaired rather than discarded, choosing products with less packaging, choosing recyclable products and packaging. A Page 1

5 1.2 Regional Waste Management Plan In 2012, Council approved a Waste Management and Minimisation Plan (WMMP) effective from 2012 to The purpose of the WMMP is to enable Council to promote and implement measures to provide effective and efficient waste management and minimisation within the district. This replaced the Waste Management Plan for the Gisborne District (2005). The Waste Management Act 2008 introduced a levy on waste disposed to landfill. Half of the funds collected are returned to councils on a population basis. Working to a WMMP is mandatory if Council wishes to continue accessing funds generated from the levy. A Waste Assessment preceded the WMMP and covered the following key aspects: The current waste situation including the source, destination and composition of waste streams from the Gisborne District; The current waste management services provided in the Gisborne District; The future demand for waste services; and Options for waste management. The plan is due for review in Waste and Recycling Data Monthly waste and recycling data is collected from Waste Management and checked against the previous year s data. This information is essential to ensure that progress is maintained towards a vision of zero waste. A Page 2

6 2. Reduction Council has continued to advocate for producer responsibility. Methods of reducing are included in the weekly column in the Eastland Trader and in education programmes run by Council. Reduction is a major theme of educational programmes at the Rethink Education Centre, especially for Year 6 students. The Rethink programme aims to see each city student at least twice during their time at primary school. Reduction when making shopping decisions was one of the main themes at the Waste Free parenting course run by the Nappy Lady for Gisborne District Council. A Page 3

7 3. Reuse and Recycling 3.1 Second-Hand Sundays Second-hand Sundays have been held in February and October since Around 150 people would register for each of these events with an estimated 60 tonnes of waste being diverted from the landfill each year. Since 2010 these have been held on the first Sunday of every month. 350 households registered in Recycling Gisborne City kerbside recycling collected 2553 tonnes of recyclables in This is the lowest since the introduction in In the middle of the year an educational campaign, including a pamphlet and fridge magnet delivered to every householder commenced. The contractor retrained his staff on acceptable recyclables and the use of official bins. The contractor increased staff numbers on the trucks for 2 weeks and unacceptable product was left at kerbside. This has always been the educational and quality control component of the contract but over the years this has been inconsistent. In previous years we have had little actual data on the percentage of what was collected got rejected when sorted although the contractor has reported having achieved 95% recycled from what has been collected, as stated in their contract. This is within the acceptable limits and significantly better than comingled or wheelie bin collections in other parts of New Zealand. Graph 1: Gisborne City kerbside recycling Average Monthly Recycling Tonnages A Page 4

8 Composition of Kerbside Recycling Collection T if 1599T of 1454T of plastic, tins, 1369T of plastic, 1869T of 1542T of plastic, tins, plastic, tins, paper/card tins, plastic, tins, plastic, tins, paper/card paper/card (approx.) 92T (3.4%) rejected to landfill paper/card 110T (4%) rejected to aluminium and paper/card aluminium and paper/card landfill 1111T glass 988T glass 1166T of glass 1145T of glass 776T of glass 1210T of glass Resource Recovery Centre (RRC) The drop-off centre for recyclables at Waste Management operates 24 hours a day. An average of 93 tonnes of recyclables was deposited per month in 2016, a total of 1116 tonnes. This was 250T pa less than the previous year. Sorting of waste from the transfer station floor has ceased, with no metals being recovered due to the low returns. Waste oil recycling is also no longer provided. Tyres are not accepted. Greenwaste is diverted at the RRC and goes to DB Judds for composting. The RRC is monitored regularly. 3.3 Rural Transfer Stations The Gisborne District has nine transfer stations for the management of rural township waste. Six transfer stations are located along the coast (Tolaga Bay, Tokomaru Bay, Te Puia, Tikitiki, Ruatoria and Te Araroa), while three transfer stations are located inland (Te Karaka, Whatatutu and Matawai). These transfer stations operate with restricted hours and are managed by caretakers who ensure that the rubbish, recyclables and diverted materials are placed in the correct bins/bays. Bins are specially provided for glass (clear, green and brown), plastic and cans, and cardboard/paper, while diversion bays are provided for scrap metals, whiteware, and reusable timber. Waste oil is collected at Waiapu, Tokomaru Bay and Matawai. All the transfer stations have been inspected quarterly to ensure they comply with the resource consent conditions. There was a significant change in both the waste and recyclables collected from the rural transfer stations following the changes in October Rural Transfer station waste, at 1050 tonnes to landfill in 2013, was less than half of that of 2011 before converting to a sticker charging system. As well as recycling emphasis was put on removing organic waste and composting. Over the last 3 years rural transfer waste has been steadily increasing. In % more waste (513T) has entered the rural transfer stations compared to Recycling volumes have also steadily decreased to 572T in 2016 (down 10% from 2013) 572 tonnes of recyclables were collected from the rural transfer stations in The drop-off of recycling remained free when the changes to charging for waste and restricted access was A Page 5

9 adopted in October This quantity is less than in 2013 but still more than when dropping off waste was not charged for. Graph 2: Rural Transfer Station Waste and Recycling Tonnes waste Tonnes recycling In the city glass recycling is less than the other recyclables by weight. Rural transfer stations have significantly more glass than recyclables suggesting that paper, plastics and cans have other outlets than recycling. The waste analysis in 2017 should give more data on this. The recyclables are transported to the RRC when the recycling bins are full. Car Body and Scrap Metal Collection from transfer stations Metal and cars from all rural transfer stations have been accumulating until there is sufficient volume to have them picked up for recycling. 3.4 Public Places and Event Recycling Funding from the Waste Levy Contestable Fund for the Rugby World Cup 2011 provided Gisborne with 10 permanent public place recycling bins and 20 recycling bin stations for events. Giving a total of 28 public place recycling bins and 20 event recycling stations. Love NZ public place recycling bins recovered 3.6 T of waste in 2016 and 4.3 T in Council has been working with Event holders to make their events more sustainable by providing a workshop on Event recycling for event holders, with the guest speaker from Beyond the Bin. Council revamped their Event application forms, provided information on recycling at events and provided 6 depots and flags that are on free loan for events but require a recycling ambassador to be helping at each station. The following events aimed for zero waste to landfill: The Street Food festivals (the most recent one had recycling stations manned by senior Enviroschool students) Also supporting waste minimisation at school galas DB Judds upgraded their processes and began accepting organics from events. This makes event recycling more viable with 3 waste streams: compostables, recyclables and landfill waste. Waste Management will also provide bins but for the waste minimisation to be successful the stations need permanent supervision. A Page 6

10 3.5 Council Recycling An opportunity to promote the results from GDCs waste audit arose when a café was set up at the entrance to the Emerald. Council staff were made aware that 12,500 disposable coffee cups, or a quarter of a tonne, went to landfill from disposable cups brought back to the offices. Two staff members changed their habits and received a prize. Significant quantities of waste were reused from the now demolished GDC offices. The concrete and bricks were reused for building new roads. The metal used to hold the concrete together is A Page 7

11 getting separated and reused, and a good portion of salvage materials like doors and insulation were given to the community. 3.6 Agricultural Waste Recent farm waste surveys in Canterbury, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty have shown an average of 37T per property is disposed of annually. All farms surveyed used either burning, burying or bulk storage as one of the methods for disposing of their waste. Agrecovery was set up to remove from the environment the millions of plastic containers used every year in the agriculture and forestry sectors. The containers are recycled into safe end products such as underground cable covers. The Riverpoint Road depot collects significant quantities from the horticultural sector. Agrecovery also recovers agrichemicals from farmers and safely disposes of them. Council contributed funding to this project in 2016 to avoid environmental harm through inappropriate disposal. The national Plasback scheme, recycling farm bale warp, was introduced to Gisborne in Although this programme has received funding from government to be rolled out nationally it was seen as uneconomic to bring it to the Gisborne district without a modification and additional subsidies. There has not been a large uptake at this stage. 3.7 E-Waste 575 people dropped off 33.56T of e-waste for recycling during October..Council modelled e-month on the e-days that were held in the district from 2008 to The quantity was very similar to the last collection which was held in November 2010 when 33 tonnes of e-waste was collected from 503 vehicles. This filled two 40 foot shipping containers. Previous to this, in 2009, 25 tonnes of computer equipment was collected. A Page 8

12 The first local e-day in 2008 exceeded all expectations and recycled 52 tonnes of computer waste plus more from schools and businesses. e-days were funded by a charitable trust and organised locally by Council. e-month, 2016 was subsidised from local waste levy funding and has been a collaborative arrangement between Waste Management and Council. In 2013 the Ministry for the Environment subsidised the recycling of televisions to coincide with the change-over to digital. A total of 1487 televisions were collected. The 2016 collection has seen a mix of televisions and computers. All of the e-waste was trucked to the South Waikato Achievement Centre, a social enterprise that has provided recycling services for over 20 years. A Page 9

13 4. Recovery 4.1 Organic Waste The NZ Waste Strategy states that organic waste should be diverted to beneficial use. November 2010 the waste survey by Waste Management identified: 31 percent of waste entering the RRC was organic (70%of this was kitchen waste). In A 2011 householder survey reported: Forty-seven percent of households compost their kitchen waste and a further 19% gave it to animals (only 14% put it in their rubbish bins with no diversion). Garden waste was composted by 41% of people and 19% took it to composting facilities. Others did a combination of methods with only 2% landfilling garden waste. Council continues to promote organic recycling (recovery), promoting and demonstrating composting, worm farming and Bokashi systems to householders. In 2016 Council provided alternate monthly composting or wormfarming workshops for the public. Composting Facility D B Judd operates the only consented composting facility in the district. DB Judds upgraded their processes and began accepting the greenwaste from the city transfer station. Worm Farming Five wormfarming workshops have been held. Composting Workshops The introduction of charging for waste through a sticker system in rural areas in October 2012 saw the introduction of free compost bins to attendees at composting workshops. Eight composting workshops were held in Gisborne in Each household that attended was eligible to receive a free compost bin. 145 bins were distributed. Around 1700 bins have been distributed since A Page 10

14 5. Refuse Collection 600 Graph 3: Gisborne City kerbside refuse collection Average Monthly kerbside Tonnage * Recycling Commenced September 2000 The kerbside refuse collection in Gisborne City for 2016 was 3913 tonnes, up on the previous 10 years. A solid waste audit is planned for March 2017 and this will include the composition of bagged refuse. Refuse Collection in Ruatoria The kerbside refuse collection in both 2015 and 2016 was 39 tonnes. Participation in the kerbside collection increased with the introduction of the sticker system. Transfer Stations The waste from Tokomaru Bay, Te Puia, Tikitiki, Ruatoria and Te Araroa transfer stations is disposed of at Waiapu Landfill in Ruatoria. In tonnes was landfilled at Waiapu, down from 1059T in 2011 but up on the 492T in Landfill volume halved with the introduction of charging in October, 2012 but has now increased, but still significantly less than before the changes. Very little dumped rubbish has been reported, although local community clean-ups have picked up dumped rubbish from the Waiapu and the Coast beaches. Small, remote landfills with a quantity landfilled of less than 1000 tonnes a year are exempt from the emissions trading scheme payment. Currently Waiapu is eligible for this saving. The refuse from Tolaga Bay, Te Karaka, Whatatutu and Matawai transfer stations (inland transfer stations) is transported to Waste Management Resource Recovery Centre for processing. Last year 829 tonnes of refuse was collected from these transfer stations. The volume in 2011 was significantly more at 1373T. A Page 11

15 6. Disposal 6.1 Waste Stream The population of 47,734 disposed of 14,427 tonnes of waste to landfill in 2016, equating to almost 300 kg/annum/capita. This is based on a recent population report commissioned by council and differs from the population used in the 2015 report. Using this new figure the waste to landfill in 2015 would be 273kg per head. The target in the WMMP of 285kg per head was achieved in 2015, but exceeded in TABLE 1: Gisborne waste to landfill per capita 2016 Population Gisborne District 47,734 Refuse to landfill from Gisborne RRTS Tonnes to Waiapu landfill Total refuse to landfill 2016 Per capita disposal of waste to landfill 13,427 T/annum 734 T/annum 14,161 T/annum 0.296T/capita/annum Graph 4: Volume of waste disposed to land-fill from Gisborne City (1995 &1998 to 2016) Amount The amount of solid waste to landfill generated in the district per capita has continued to decline over the past 18 years to 2013, but in the last 2 years there has been an increase in waste to landfill. In comparison with districts/regions of similar size, Gisborne has a relatively low rate of per capita waste. Waste Management sent 13,427 tonnes of waste through the Resource Recovery Centre (RRC) to landfill. In addition, K & M Contractors processed 734 tonnes of waste to Waiapu Landfill. Both figures are more than the last 2 years. A Page 12

16 Waste and recycling are transported loose from Gisborne since the compactors were removed from the RRC in The two private operators processed 10,039 tonnes of waste at their restricted waste disposal facilities at Tonlyn and Matokitoki, similar to the previous year. The new Waste Management contracts have no targets for waste reduction, as the targets in the previous contract were unenforceable. Paokahu Landfill The Paokahu Landfill is being managed in accordance with an aftercare plan that is due to be revised. Waiapu Landfill The Waiapu Area Landfill commenced operation in March This site takes all the waste from north of Tolaga Bay. Resource consent was granted in 2010 and expires in Resource Recovery Centre Mixed recyclables were transported to Tauranga and later in the year to Napier for sorting, and glass to Auckland. The residual waste is transported to a landfill in Paeroa. Restricted Waste Disposal Facilities (RWDF) - Restricted waste disposal facility Gisborne District has two restricted waste disposal facilities. 1. Tonlyn located at 344 Ormond Valley Road and has been operating since A change in resource consent in 2007 allowed Tonyln to accept small amount of asbestos. 2. Matokitoki located at Matokitoki Valley Road has been operating since All the incoming waste is monitored by the Site Manager before it is accepted and records are kept in a register. These sites accept waste such as used concrete, bricks, ceramics, plasterboard, soil/gravel etc. The sites have been monitored and no complaints or non-complying issues were identified in Neither site receives municipal waste and therefore are not currently subject to paying the Waste Disposal Levy. Matokitoki was shredding and composting the organic waste segregated at the Transfer station and using it for landfill cover but this is now diverted to DB Judds for composting. A Page 13

17 7. Hazardous Waste The city resource recovery facility operation continues to separate out any obvious hazardous substances received in the general domestic rubbish. Council assistance to those who still have chemicals for disposal continues with an inventory of chemicals forwarded to an approved contractor for consideration and arrangements for pickup, disposal and cost recovery. Council supported the AgRecovery collection of obsolete and unwanted agrichemicals from the rural sector in an effort to reduce harm to the environment. In kg, including nearly 200kg of DDT, was recovered. A Page 14

18 8. Promotion, Publicity, Education and Facilitation 8.1 School Education Council s school programme is multifaceted. Council provides class material on its webpage and is available to visit schools on request or schools can have a tailored class at the Rethink Environmental Education Centre. Rethink Centre In 2016, 35 classes, around 900 students, visited the Rethink Centre to learn about minimising waste. Most of these were years 4 and 6 students. In this way it is hoped waste education will reach all students in the district. The Education Centre was not included in the new contract that was accepted by council for waste services and transfer station. New premises were found during late 2016 with classes due to commence at the new site in The new premises share a site with the Tairawhiti Environment Centre and this location is open Monday to Saturday for off-the-street visitors and pre-arranged group tours. School and public groups visit the Rethink Centre for sessions on waste and litter. Enviroschools Council coordinates and co-funds the Enviroschool programme in Tairāwhiti schools. The other major sponsors are the Toimata Foundation with support from MfE, the J.N. Williams Memorial Trust, the H.B. Williams Turanga Trust, Eastland Port and the Department of Conservation. In 2016 twenty five schools were Enviroschools. Waste is a key area of activity in the programme with waste audits a way of measuring change. A number of newsletters are distributed to all schools during the year and are available on Council s webpage. 8.2 Other Education A campaign supporting the new rubbish and recycling kerbside collection was launched in mid The purpose was to provide the householder with a refresher on what they can recycle and how it needs to be presented at the gate. Sorting by the contractor of recycling bins at the gate has always been part of Gisborne s system of recycling quality control. A Page 15

19 A combined programme of media releases, pamphlet and fridge magnet delivery and improved sorting at the gate has resulted in the improvement of product. The slogans used in the campaign were printed on the sides of the collection trucks as part of the agreed contract. Events A stand at the Home and Lifestyle Expo, which 4000 people attended, coincided with the delivery of the Guide to rubbish and recycling collection to all houses and was the theme of the display. Food waste and Plastic Free July gave appeal to a wider audience. A Page 16

20 A prize to reduce food waste encouraged visitor interaction. (For recycling at events see 3.4 Public Place and Event recycling) Media The Gisborne Herald featured articles about various aspects of waste. Radio and social media are also used to promote Secondhand Sunday and waste messages and workshops. The weekly Sort Yourself Out column in the Eastland Trader is designed to facilitate the exchange of waste, provide sustainability tips and to promote events. Support Council supported the newly formed Plastic Bag Free Tairawhiti voluntary group. This group was active in promoting reusable bags, recycling at events and in organising monthly beach litter clean-ups to reduce the amount of plastics entering our oceans. This group are actively interested in waste minimisation and embody the vision of the Waste Management and Minimisation Plan of a prosperous region, where each person takes responsibility for using resources wisely and without harm to the environment, and actively works towards zero waste to landfill. Organic Waste Workshops See Section 4 Recovery regarding Composting workshops, worm-farming workshops and bokashi bin promotions. A Page 17

21 New families waste Council funded a Waste Free Parenting workshops run by the Nappy Lady. Packs of reusable nappies were included with the course. In addition to this the Plunket parenting workshops included presentations and a voucher for each prospective parent for reusable nappies. Other Pick-ups There are other groups, especially schools, undertaking regular pick-ups, especially the beach areas and sand dunes. Plastic bag Free Tairawhiti has been doing a beach clean-up monthly since July2016. Council supports clean-ups by providing gloves, bags and arranges the removal of the rubbish. The public has been active in denigrating dumpers of rubbish. In total 29T of illegally dumped rubbish and litter from clean-ups was recovered. This is no different from previous years. A Page 18

22 9. Resource Efficiency All economic activities involve the consumption of raw materials and energy, and generate emissions and waste. Resource efficiency involves changes in production and consumption so that natural resources are used more sustainably. It includes innovation in behaviour, technology and different ways of doing business. The goal of resource efficiency is addressed each time waste is reduced, reused or recycled as the use of new resources is avoided. Therefore, many of the activities for 2016 that have been reported in previous sections of the report also have resource efficiency outcomes. The weekly column of Eastland Trader provides tips for having a smaller environmental footprint. Second-hand Sunday encourages the use of second-hand rather than new thereby reducing resource use. A Page 19

23 10. Monitoring and Enforcement Monitoring of waste operations showed compliance with the offensive trade licence/consent conditions. All Council owned and operated sites have been granted resource consent. All Council owned waste sites monitored as per programme. Private waste sites monitored as per monitoring programme. Council issued 26 infringement notices in the 2016 calendar year. 81 complaints were received in that period but most had insufficient evidence for enforcement action. 29T of illegally dumped rubbish and litter from clean-ups was recovered (compared to 30T in 2015), The Annual Litter Count, undertaken on the same sites for the last 13 years, was 280 pieces over 4 sites. This year s count is significantly less than the 5 previous years which have recorded around 400 pieces, but is comparable to the results of Litter education is included in the waste education programme delivered to school students through the Rethink Centre programme and Enviroschools. Students are very aware that litter finds its way to our beaches and ultimately affects ocean life. Students are encouraged to take action and pick-up a piece of litter a day. A Page 20

24 11. Summary of the Year Waste from the city transfer station going to landfill was 13,427 tonnes, 9% more than the previous year and the most waste since Publicity and Education 575 people dropped off 33.56T of e-waste for recycling during October. Plastic Bag Free Tairawhiti formed for Plastic Free July and has been an active group, advocating for a reduction in plastic usage and providing bags and education in the district. A Page 21

25 12. Towards 2017 The Waste Management and Minimisation Plan is active, but a survey and assessment will be undertaken in 2017 prior to developing a new plan for the next six years The Rethink Centre will be relocated from the transfer station to shared premises with Tairawhiti Environment Centre. A Page 22

26 15 Fitzherbert Street, Gisborne PHONE FAX WEB