Waimate District Council

Location: Canterbury
Population: 7,100

Situated between the Pareora and Waitaki Rivers, Waimate is the southern most district in Canterbury. Like much of Canterbury, Waimate typically has warm summers and clear frosty winters with only a moderate rainfall.

With lakes, rivers and mountains on our doorstep these conditions make the area into an outdoor sportsmans' paradise. Recreational activities include fishing, boating, hunting, tramping and mountain biking. Waimate is placed on State Highway 82 which continues up the Waitaki valley, with its hydro lakes, ending at Omarama, gateway to Central Otago or the Mackenzie country.

Waimate services the dairy, cropping, berryfruit and sheep farms surrounding it. Other industries in and around Waimate include furniture manufacturing, food processing and forestry.

The Waimate District Council adopted a target of Zero Waste by 2015 in August 2001.

Initiatives put in place:

• February 2000 - Mulching of separable greenwaste at transfer station (est. 800 tonnes a year). Waimate Landfill now closed. Solid waste is now transferred to Timaru.

• July 2000- Drop-off in Waimate recycling paper, cardboard (5-8 tonne a month) and aluminium cans. This was initially offered to businesses only. The site owner subsequently allowed use by the general public.
• August 2001- Adoption of Zero Waste Target. Public meeting to form group to further recycling in Waimate. Named Whitehorse Recovery, the group will be working in full consultation with Council.
• November 2001 - Construction of Resource Recovery Park in Waimate on transfer station site, which includes current recovery principles within its design. Recovery limited at this stage to greenwaste, paper, cardboard and scrap metal, including cars and appliances. It is intended that Whitehouse Recovery would be able to utilise this site for processing and storage of materials once operational.
• Decermber 2001- Drop-off established at St Andrews by Ratepayers Association with support by Waimate District Council. They recycle glass, paper, cardboard, tin and aluminium cans.
• September - October 2002- Waimate District Council is aiding Whitehorse Recycling in writing a business plan and becoming a legal entity. This financial year Council has budgeted $5000 for legal expenses plus $30,000 for capital items.

• May - July 2003 - Public meeting held to form Whitehorse Recycling Trust. Trustees appointed and first meeting held. This group will advise Council and may participate in waste minimisation initiatives.

• 2004 - Waimate DC is working towards providing greater recycling services with the help of the Whitehorse Recycling Trust.  The group aims to increase the range of recyclables taken by the Resource Recovery Park and introduce kerbside collection of recyclables from mid-2005.  Whitehorse Recycling's vision is to "Create Wealth from Waste".

Waste Reduction Figures

Accurate figures have only been available since February 2000 when waste has been weighed at Timaru's weighbridge, before landfilling. Waste estimates pre landfill closure were 3,000 to 3,500 tonnes a year. Since then, with greenwaste separation and some recycling (no collection yet), waste has averaged 2327 tonnes per year. Substantial reductions are unlikely without the introduction of a kerbside recycling collection. A decision as to its introduction may be made during the next calendar year. Council has not decided what other methods will be used to achieve its waste reduction goal.

All the Councils in Canterbury are co-operating to further waste minimisation within the region. This should aid smaller districts in overcoming the problems of low volumes and transport costs.

For further information contact Brian Purcell at brian@waimatedc.govt.nz  or call 03 689 8079 or go to www.waimatedc.govt.nz .