Westland District Council

Location: West Coast, South Island
Population: 8500

Situated on the beautiful West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, the region covers an area of 11,000 sq. kilometres. The district is over 300km long with numerous small settlements and one main centre in Hokitika, all connected by one highway.

Westland is an area of unspoiled natural beauty and features such as the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers, the Haast World Heritage Area and many historical sites are significant tourist attractions. The temperate climate and high rainfall encourages native forest growth. There are three National Parks partly within the District and over 90% of the District's land area is managed under a conservation mandate by the Department of Conservation.

In 1999 Westland joined the other two West Coast Councils and the West Coast Regional Council in establishing the West Coast Regional Waste Management Committee.

This group comprises Councillors and staff from the four Councils, a schools representative, with involvement from local iwi and the Department of Conservation. The focus of the group is to ensure all solid waste initiatives are coordinated, and to foster cooperation in the areas of education and waste minimisation.

In <b>February 2000</b> Westland District Council officially adopted a Zero Waste Policy.

Westland District Council developed a Solid Waste Management Plan which was adopted by Council in March 2002. The New Zealand Waste Strategy and Zero Waste are two of the main underlying principles of the Plan.

New resource consents have recently been received for eight of Council's nine existing landfill sites. Only one, at Kumara, does not have a granted consent. A rationalisation of the operating sites as part of the Waste Management Strategy is underway. A revised waste management system, using fewer landfills and a number of transfer stations, is anticipated to cost more than double that of present arrangements. There is, therefore, a big incentive to reduce waste quantities by diversion, recycling or reuse. The costs of transporting wastes  are very high, given the small volumes and long distances involved. Anything that  minimises waste at the point of generation is a big saving to the district.

Westland currently produces approximately 6,500 tonnes of waste per annum. The proportion of it generated by the rapidly expanding tourism industry is unknown, but significant. Surveys of waste composition in tourist centres have been undertaken but rapid growth and variation between seasons requires on-going surveys. Based on two waste surveys at the Hokitika landfill, organic waste comprises at least 50% of the total waste stream. Efforts to divert these materials to greenwaste or composting sites will provide the first steps towards major reduction in the total waste volume. Recyclables such as cardboard, some plastics, glass, cars, whiteware and scrap metals are all recycled from the waste stream but recycled materials only comprise about 10% of the waste generated in the District, and they are very expensive to get to markets.

Hazardous wastes, comprising about 1% of the total waste, are co-disposed at all sites at present. Efforts to quantify these materials and to provide better disposal facilities are a priority for the Council and have been the subject of surveys and trial hazardous waste collections by the West Coast Regional Waste Management Committee.

A broad-based effort will be required to significantly decrease the rates of waste generation and landfilling occurring in Westland.

Community education is a priority to ensure the true costs of waste are understood and borne by those generating the refuse. Education, aimed predominantly at school pupils, is a priority to change social attitudes to waste. Continued research to increase our level of knowledge about current waste generation and disposal rates and long term trends will be essential. We are keen to learn about and develop successful waste minimisation initiatives employed elsewhere by Councils with more experience in waste reduction. In return, we have some experience in managing a  widely dispersed refuse problem, generated by high tourist numbers, and financed with a small rating base.

For further information contact Richard Cotton at richardc@westlanddc.govt.nz  or call 03 755 8321.