Waste in general
About 93% of 'raw materials' are thrown away during the production process, and about 80% of the stuff we buy is thrown away after one use. New Zealanders throw away more rubbish per person than people in most other developed countries. The wealthier we have become, the more we waste.
How much rubbish do we throw away?
A sample of Dunedin's rubbish sent to landfill (November 2004):
- Putrescibles (kitchen and garden scraps) 43.18%
- Paper - 13.3%
- Plastics - 12.24%
- Glass - 5.93%
- Metal - 13.3%
- Textiles - 5.5%
- Nappies and sanitary - 2.58%
- Other (including potentially hazardous) - 3.97%
Our domestic waste collections
We have a zero waste target. For the year ending February 2004, the following rubbish was collected:
- DCC black rubbish bags - 9997 tonnes
- DCC recycling collection - 4917 tonnes
- Average black bag weight - 5.9kg
The typical contents of a black bag are as follows:
- Organics - 46%
- Paper - 28%
- Plastic - 10%
- Glass - 3%
- Metal - 3%
- Other - 10%
Three myths of rubbish collection
The Council gets rid of it.
They do remove it from your property, but it doesn't disappear. Most of it goes into managed landfills.
Rubbish breaks down in the ground.
It actually persists in an airtight landfill, so a newspaper or book could still be readable after 40 years!
The Council sorts out the useful stuff.
They don't but you can, before it goes to the kerbside.
What's wrong with dumping rubbish in a landfill?
Residual material in New Zealand is deposited into a landfill. This can be a problem because:
- Land is permanently lost - Landfills in the past have been unstable, emitted flammable methane gas and unpleasant smells and have soil contamination.
- It is an expensive process - The land has to be bought and safeguards such as clay layers, collection pipes and pumps are needed to prevent toxic leachate from reaching groundwater or streams.
- It is a waste of nutrients - Garden clippings and food scraps could usefully return nutrients to soil through the natural process of decay. Many other materials could also be recovered if separated at the source.
The New Zealand Waste Strategy at a glance
The Strategy's aim is to:
- Minimise and manage hazardous waste
- Upgrade landfill disposal facilities so that older dirtier sites can be closed
- Upgrade wastewater treatment plants, which will help clean up the beaches
- Promote composting and recycling of garden and kitchen wastes
- Encourage re-use/recycling of building site and demolition materials
Waste generators are to be charged the environmental cost of treatment and disposal this is the principle of the polluter pays.
Read a 2006 review of the strategy targets (new window)
Source of information
The information on this page is sourced from the Sustainable Living programme (opens in a new window).
Last reviewed: 15 Jul 2008 12:53pm
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