She said New Zealand had "idiotic systems" for waste management, with most organic waste mixed in with plastics or put down incinerators.
"We should be investing in bio-gas plants so that organic waste can be turned into bio-fuels like in Europe."
Wellington City Councillor Iona Pannett said the answer to the capital's organic waste problem was city-wide compost collection but a plant would be a huge investment requiring funding from central government.
"Part of the problem I think is people want to do the right thing but there isn't a place we can put organic waste," she said. Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage has called for a review into the Waste Minimisation Act.
The review would focus on creating more onshore processing facilities, limiting the use of combined plastics which are difficult to process or recycle, and increasing waste levies, Ms Sage told RNZ.
- NZN