Residents are invited to have a say on a new waste plan

The recently released draft joint Waste Management and Minimisation plan (WMMP) includes a number of innovative and exciting ideas on how we could deal with waste in the future.

The plan has been developed by Hastings District and Napier City Councils and aims to find ways of delivering consistent waste and recycling services across both cities. The plan is now out for public consultation and includes ideas on how waste services can be delivered more efficiently, while meeting government regulations and managing costs. There are also suggestions on how to lower the amount of waste which ends up at the Omarunui landfill.

Features of the plan will be highlighted in the Voice Box (a retrofitted shipping container) which begins its travels around the district this Friday. Information from the draft WMMP will be on display along with a selection of the main features from the Hastings District Council’s just released draft 2012/22 Long Term Plan.

Questions which are posed in the draft WMMP include how to deal with recycling and waste at the kerbside and what should be done with hazardous and electronic waste. It also looks at ways residents can change their habits when dealing with waste and how to control the illegal dumping of rubbish.

The Voice Box will be in the Hastings CBD this Friday (April13th), then at Haumoana on Saturday and the Farmers Market on Sunday. Next week, the Voice Box will be in Flaxmere on Tuesday, Clive on Thursday and Havelock North on Friday and Saturday.

The draft joint WMMP can be viewed along with more details on the Voice Box schedule, on Hastings District Council’s online channel www.myvoicemychoice.co.nz  where you can also leave your comments.

Copies of the plan are available at the Hastings District Council Civic Administration building and the Hastings, Flaxmere and Havelock North libraries. Submissions on the draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan are open until May 4th 2012.