Aucklanders who want their say on how waste is tackled in the region have a fortnight left to make a submission on the draft Auckland Council Waste Management and Minimisation Plan.
 
While more than 700 submissions have already been received*, the council is keen to collect even more opinions before public consultation closes at 4pm on 31 January, including from the south where low numbers of submissions have come from to date.

Released on 17 November, the draft plan proposes a wide range of services and initiatives to reduce household, commercial and council waste, with key changes affecting households set to occur from 2015.

The full plan, a summary (available in various languages) and the submission form are available on the Auckland Council website, at local board offices, council service centres and libraries.  A video providing a brief outline of the plan is also available on the council's website and Facebook page.

Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse said Aucklanders are already great recyclers, but as we still send about 800kg of waste per person each year into landfills change is needed to tackle this and make Auckland the world’s most liveable city.

"The first step is to get feedback on what’s proposed in the plan and gather any other great ideas from households, businesses and community groups to assist us in ensuring the plan is robust and on the right track,” she says. “While we’re impressed with the response to the plan so far, we’d encourage others to take the chance to have their say on the serious issue of tackling waste.”

Councillor Wayne Walker, who chairs the council’s Environment and Sustainability Forum, explains the plan will be finalised mid-year following consideration of all of the submissions and associated hearings in March.

“Once the plan is adopted we’ll be focusing on educating the community about relevant changes,” he says.

Councillor Walker notes that if the comprehensive suite of services proposed in the draft plan are adopted in 2015, by 2022 the region will have diverted over 500,000 tonnes from landfill.

“One of the key areas of opportunity is with food and green waste, about 97,000 tonnes of which is currently thrown away by households each year when it could be turned into valuable products like compost. The proposals to address this are something I’m particularly keen to get peoples’ opinions on.”