Rural New Zealand contributes about 10 per cent of the country's solid waste and commanded a corresponding amount of attention in the strategy document.
But Federated Farmers dairy industry manager Randy Muderewich found the largely urban focus apt despite his concern that the particular difficulties facing country people were not appreciated.
He
was worried about a suggestion that at least one urban disposal problem could be solved at the expense of rural areas - the growing amount of treated effluent sludge, or bio-waste.
"The alternative implied is that it will be disposed of on farmland. We have a major concern with ... what could potentially be put on farmland in some of these bio-solids."
Such a solution contradicted the emphasis put on the treatment and disposal of similar farm waste.
Geography drove the waste issue for rural people because most were not near a landfill.
"Unfortunately the lowest cost option is to just dispose of it on the farm."
Many farmers wanted better alternatives, and the strategy's goal of 95 per cent of New Zealanders having access to community recycling facilities was positive, Muderewich said.
"I'm not sure everyone realises the extra cost to rural people to take part in any of these initiatives because of their geographic location."
Rural people would have to make special trips with bulky or dirty waste such as silage wrap.
Plastic disposal was the major rural issue because of a proposed national air plan, and because some regional councils had already banned burning.
Muderewich said a workshop last month on waste plastic attracted about 40 participants, including businesses.
"We don't want to do more harm to the environment trying to gather this waste than present disposal methods. We don't want to send a truck 200 to 300km to pick up a wee bit of plastic because you've polluted the environment more from the fuel you've burned."
nzherald.co.nz/environment
