West Coast food and green waste collection feasibility report completed

The Buller, Grey, and Westland District Councils have published the results of the regional food and green waste feasibility study that was completed in June this year.

In May 2023, central government developed a policy requiring all district and city councils to offer food and green waste collection for urban areas with over 1,000 residents by 2030. For the West Coast, this affects Westport, Reefton, Greymouth and Hokitika.

The three councils received funding from the Ministry for the Environment and Development West Coast to carry out the study and determine what might be possible in terms of both collection and processing of food and green waste on the West Coast.

While the study was in progress, central government reversed the requirement to collect organic waste from populations greater than 1000 residents, removing the mandate that brought about this work.

Grey District Council Group Manager Operations Kurtis Perrin-Smith says: “The study sought views from residents across the West Coast via a community survey, with the results providing insight into how community members currently deal with their food and green waste, and also their views on different collection methods and at-home options for processing organic waste.”

The survey found that 31% of West Coast residents dispose of their food waste with general rubbish, with the remainder either composting at home or feeding food waste to animals.
There is widespread support for improving the management of food and green waste, however there is also reluctance to pay additional costs to enable improved management of organic waste.

In order to determine the expected volumes of food and green waste being disposed of on the West Coast, a waste audit was carried out on kerbside waste in Hokitika, Greymouth and Westport.

Westland District Council’s Group Manager District Assets Erle Bencich continues: “The audit revealed that the majority of our green waste is disposed of directly at processing sites at transfer stations across the region, rather than through kerbside collection. This also highlights that many residents undertake home composting activities, confirming that there are no significant gains to be made from providing a kerbside green waste collection in any of the Westland District towns at this stage.”

However, 1,174 tonnes of food waste are estimated to be disposed of each year through kerbside collection. If collected separately from the general waste stream, there is potential to combine this food waste with the green waste dropped off at landfills and transfer stations to produce a resaleable compost product.

A variety of options were considered for collection of food waste, from council collection for all households to smaller, community-led collection services for those who wish to opt-in. The costs associated with large-scale collection services are significant and were deemed not to be affordable in the West Coast context.

Buller District Council’s Group Manager Infrastructure Services Anthony Blom says: “The processing options considered ranged from high-tech, fully automated systems to simple windrow composting processes requiring little input or technical skill. In the West Coast context, it was concluded that any composting process should be low-tech and simple to operate, given our remoteness from services required to keep more complex processes fully functional.”

The study concludes that an approach combining community education around food waste reduction with a council/community partnership presents the best model for further development. This would draw on the strengths of both parties, while providing small-scale food waste collection and processing for the wider community without heavily impacting rates.

By working with community organisations that have already achieved successful outcomes using this model elsewhere in New Zealand, it would be possible to adopt a cost-effective and affordable approach for West Coast communities.

Background information
The regional feasibility study for food and green waste collection and processing services cost $100,000, with Te Pūtea Whakamauru Para - the Waste Minimisation Fund administered by the Ministry for the Environment funding $75,000, Development West Coast investing $10,000, and each district council contributing $5,000.

-ENDS-

For further information, please contact:
Buller District Council:
Media.Enquiries@bdc.govt.nz 

Grey District Council:
Communications@greydc.govt.nz 

Westland District Council: 
Communications@westlanddc.govt.nz