Zero Waste: North Shore City Council

Location: Auckland Region
Population: 198,900
Households: 72,207

North Shore City, as its name suggests, is a city by the sea. Surrounded by the unrivalled sailing and cruising waters of the Hauraki Gulf, North Shore City has a beautiful urban coastline dotted with sweeping, sandy bays. The City boasts a broad range of leisure activities and attractions, including a thriving arts scene, award winning cages and restaurants, world-class sport and leisure facilities, modern shopping areas and many beautiful parks and beaches.

The first kerbside recycling collection in New Zealand began in Devonport. The collection was extended city-wide in 1990, coupled with a user-pays refuse bag collection system. Over 90% of households participate in kerbside recycling and the system now results in a 37-40% annual diversion of household waste from landfill to beneficial use.

North Shore City Council adopted a target of Zero Waste in their Waste Minimisation Plan, in August 2001.
To support this target the following Zero Waste initiatives have been implemented:

• School resources for teachers and students, such as posters, brochures, presentations and displays since 2000. Assistance with setting up recycling and composting systems is also provided - 90% of the City's primary and intermediate schools are paper recycling, 60% are kerbside recycling, 45% are composting and/or worm farming.
• Create your own Eden, organic waste reduction programme including discount vouchers, free composting course and gardening awards for householders since 2001.
• HazMobile, four household hazardous waste collections annually since 2001. 10,000 tonnes of leftover paint, car batteries, and household cleaners and chemicals were recycled or treated and safely disposed of last year.
• BusinessCare North Shore City, facilitating cleaner production programmes for local business and industry since 2001 and Council internal leading by example initiatives.
• WasteWise Fund, a community grants programme available for waste reduction projects was launched in September 2002. Twenty three projects were funded, with a total of $73,243 allocated last year. The fund has been successful in supporting a variety of grass- roots initiatives, est. over 8,700 people were directly involved or will benefit from these projects.

Next milestones:

• New kerbside collection contracts are being investigated, with system trials completed in July 03 for organic waste and new recycling methods.

North Shore City Council does not currently own or operate any landfills or transfer stations. However, the Council is responsible for the long-term monitoring and leachate collection/treatment of the now closed Barry's Point landfill.

For more information contact Waste Minimisation Team on (09) 486 8600 (Action Line) or check out www.northshorecity.govt.nz