Tauranga on the road to becoming eco city

Council eco warrior Max Mason and his nippy battery powered all-electric Nissan Leaf. Photo/Andrew Warner

Tauranga's new environmental focus could see the country's lifestyle capital become an eco city.

The branding has been mooted by city councillor Max Mason. "We could become real advocates for the environment."

The inaugural meeting of the council's new Environment Committee featured a big picture glimpse at how future decisions by the council could improve the environmental health of the city.

Cr Mason said the committee wanted to pull together a plan and create a culture that ratepayers would be proud of.

Councillor Rick Curach said the eco city was an idea worth pursuing since Waitakere, New Zealand's first eco city, was gobbled up by Auckland. "It gives us a point of difference."

Tauranga MP Simon Bridges responded after the meeting that making Tauranga an eco city was an exciting idea with real potential.

"There is a definite opportunity to get a bit of a green brand around the city."

Mr Bridges said Tauranga had New Zealand's first solar-fed electric vehicle recharging station and it could well become the first city to have electric vehicles operating in special bus lanes.

And in another breakthrough for sustainable energy, he said Tauranga would be the first city in which both its mayor and local MP both drove electric cars.

Mayor Greg Brownless confirmed that the council was taking delivery of a pure electric fleet car, a $60,000 Hyundai Ioniq car, compliments of the 2013 election promise by former councillor John Robson to give back a percentage of his council salary if he failed to be re-elected.

Mr Bridges drives a plug-in hybrid Mitsubishi Outlander.

One of the goals canvassed at Tuesday's meeting was for Tauranga to become a low-carbon city and economy, including greater use of renewable energy in homes and cars.

Council sustainability advisor Michelle Elborn said the plan had to be backed by robust data. "We would like to build a clear work programme for next year and beyond."

Christine Jones, council growth and infrastructure manager, said minimising the waste sent to landfill was one of the biggest changes that could be made. The community had sent a clear signal that it wanted the council to take a more active role in addressing waste issues.

"What we have got now is not good for a growing city."

Cr Catherine Stewart highlighted the health risks associated with the use of methyl bromide at the port to fumigate logs and airborne black soot that blew across the harbour.

Committee chairman Steve Morris said the council should be talking about public transport as part of the debate about emissions and air quality. "I look at the buses in Willow St with their motors running waiting to pick up passengers and I think yeah, not so good."

Deputy mayor Kelvin Clout said they had to make sure that the new council administration building was as sustainable as possible.

Cr Bill Grainger wanted to give every householder in Tauranga the chance to install tanks that captured the rain off roofs for use in toilets and laundries.

Mary Dillon of Envirohub BOP said everything the council did had environmental implications. The most important thing was for councillors to educate themselves so when it came to debating issues, they were putting forward considered judgements rather than opinions.

The committee was awaiting the results of recent council surveys that canvassed public
opinion on waste disposal and measured the actual composition of household waste.

Preventing Tauranga becoming like Auckland

Eco-city advocate Max Mason is determined to stop Tauranga's outstanding natural environment being wrecked by rampant population growth.

The city councillor told the Bay of Plenty Times Tauranga must avoid the pitfalls of Auckland's urban sprawl where people spent half their lives sitting in a car.

''We should recognise the value of our environment and make sure it is at the heart of decision making,'' said the man who drives an all-electric Nissan Leaf.

High on his list of must-dos was the preparation of an integrated transport plan to reduce congestion. He also wanted a culture change in the attitudes of commuters so they were prepared to walk the few minutes to the nearest bus stop and then to their workplace.

''It's less about the money and more about the time,'' he said of the current situation in which Tauranga trailed the rest of New Zealand's major cities for bus patronage.

Another priority was better waste management. ''We are way behind any other city. I am advocating longer term sustainable solutions.''

Mr Mason wanted the council to turn its back on cheap and easy options to waste, even if the alternatives initially required rates subsidies to achieve the goal of zero waste.

''Becoming an eco city doesn't necessarily mean more public costs. It's more about having a innovative mind set and the council thinking differently.''