The story so far:
• With refuse tonnage increasing in the past three years, our council has been grappling with what to do with our rubbish.
•The council receives $57,000 a year for waste minimisation from the Ministry for the Environment, but hasn't been using it fully.
• The council is now focusing on how to encourage people to minimise their waste and increase recycling.
• Tararua District Council has $290,000 in its waste minimisation reserves and needs to decide how best to use it.
Reduce, recycle, re-use: Initiatives proposed in the TDC draft waste minimisation plan:
• Pongaroa landfill closed by August 2021, replaced by a small transfer station.
• More than 600 tonnes of glass, formerly used as capping on the Eketahuna landfill, to be sorted in Dannevirke and made available to local businesses for re-use by next year.
• Expanded education programmes to reduce waste.
• Provision of subsidised composting bins to households and associated education to significantly reduce waste to landfill.
• Change existing urban kerbside recycling collections to fortnightly.
Togia Lui from the Hawke's Bay Environment Centre has cautioned the Tararua District Council as it moves forward on ways to minimise waste.
With the council considering the use of worm farms to help households reduce their waste, Mr Lui said education was the key to the success of such a project.
"Unless people are educated they [worm farms] fall into disuse," he said. "People need to understand why they should be composting or using worm farms. In our organisation we spend a lot of time talking with people."
Mr Lui addressed council as part of the submission process on reducing our district's rubbish and he recommended council introduces composting for packaging at Dannevirke's Country Market.
"We are keeping 85 per cent of product away from the landfill from the Hawke's Bay Farmer's Market," he said. "This would be a great opportunity for Dannevirke. Currently your waste is exported to Waipukurau, but sooner or later the Waipukurau landfill will fill up. The long term solution is to reduce waste."
However, Mr Lui said as our population ages, there is also more use of incontinence pads which have a cocktail of drugs going through them which need to be dealt with.
"You have no e-waste disposal in your district, so this is an opportunity too," he said. "I would like to see Tararua set up an e-waste unit. Like us, you could use volunteers to dismantle the items. This provides an opportunity for young people working for the environment."
The Hawke's Bay Environment Centre is part of the Hawke's Bay Sustainability Trust which has a focus on education.
Tararua District deputy mayor Alan Benbow said he understood the need for education regarding composting.
"But, is it your recommendation we should not proceed because it's too hard?" he asked Mr Lui.
Mr Lui said council should run workshops if it rolls out its worm farm and composting programme.
"Ask people for a partial fee to attend. People are more likely to turn up if they've paid up," he said.
In a written submission on behalf of the Woodville District Vision, Malcolm Stuart said while his group supported worm farms and composting, it would need education in order for it to work.
"Woodville is a decile 9 community [which means there are many who are poor and disadvantaged in our community] and a project such as this would need community engagement if it is to be successful," he wrote.
"At this time many people don't garden or have an understanding of gardening, so worm farms and compost bins would be of little direct use to them. But this does not mean they are not interested in recycling."
Woodville District Vision would be in favour of community composting and a green waste disposal site, which Mr Stuart said would be a of more use.