Waste Management and Minimisation Plan

What is the Waste Management and Minimisation Plan? Why do we need one?

The Waste Minimisation Act 2008 requires all city and district councils to have a formal plan for managing waste, with goals and actions for how the city/district will reduce the volume of waste it produces.

Hastings District and Napier City Councils develop the Waste Management and Minimisation Plan (WMMP) together, due to our close proximity and links. Having a waste plan helps us prioritise our goals and activities. By law, our plan must be updated every six years.

We’re now reviewing our waste plan and goals to create our next Joint WMMP, with a delayed completion date of August 2025 due to the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle. This review is a chance to contribute your ideas for reducing waste in our district.

How can I have my say?

We sought input from the community via a public online tool in May and June 2024.

The next opportunity for you to provide input on the plan will be at the consultation stage (step 4 listed below), anticipated in April 2025.  This will be a chance for anyone living in the Hastings district or Napier city to give feedback on the draft waste management and minimisation plan. We will welcome comments from individuals, organisations, iwi, hapū, marae, schools, businesses, community groups, rural communities and not-for-profit organisations. 

If you have questions, contact us via reducewaste@hdc.govt.nz or call 06 871 5000.

What is in our Waste Management and Minimisation Plan?

Vision: To deliver waste minimisation and resource recovery across Hastings district and Napier city working towards zero waste.
The targets in our current joint plan, are:

• 20% total tonnage increase in common recyclables diverted from Ōmarunui Landfill.
• 30% total tonnage decrease in organics to Ōmarunui Landfill.

You can read more about these goals and the actions we’re taking to achieve them in the Waste Management and Minimisation Plan document.

How is the Waste Management and Minimisation Plan (WMMP) created?

Creating the plan involves a number of steps over an 18-month period:

1. Measure the waste created through a “waste assessment”.
2. Engage the community (mana whenua, residents, businesses, organisations and rural communities) on what types of waste-reducing actions they want to see.
3. Draft the WMMP.
4. Consult with the community on whether this represents the actions they wish the councils to focus on.
5. Receive, review and hear submissions.
6. Prepare the final WMMP.
7. Council formally adopts the WMMP.
8. Work together to put the plan into action.

What has the current waste plan helped us achieve?

Some of the completed actions and initiatives in the current plan include:

• Enhance kerbside rubbish and recycling services – completed in 2020
• Continue to provide access to Henderson Road Transfer Station resource recovery shop and investigate opportunities to enhance and develop resource recovery site – ongoing
• Provide contestable grants for local waste minimisation initiatives where there is measurable diversion from landfill – HDC’s Waste Minimisation Fund introduced in 2021
• Introduce user-pays electronic waste (e-waste) drop-off and recycling services at refuse transfer stations to cover shipping and dismantling costs – introduced in 2022

How do we measure our progress?

We measure how we’re tracking through three-yearly waste composition surveys, called Solid Waste Analysis Protocol (SWAP) surveys. Copies of the past three reports can be viewed below. We also get regular data on the weights and types of waste going to the transfer stations and Ōmarunui Landfill.