Waste Futures

Moving towards a circular economy

A path to zero waste. What is a circular economy?

Waste Futures investigations in 2018 used a strategic and programme business case process to consider how the Council's waste services could operate in future. This was supported by an analysis of the feasibilities of extending Green Island and developing a new landfill at Smooth Hill.

Meeting objectives via a circular economy

The Council’s investment objectives are to:

• influence of the waste system.
• reduce carbon emissions (find out about the Dunedin City Council's (DCC) Zero Carbon targets for the city).
• ensure quality of service for people of Dunedin.

The programme business case concluded that the best way to meet the Council’s investment objectives is to move towards a ‘circular economy’ approach. The practical detail of this how this could be done was developed in a detailed business case phase during 2019/2020.

In practice, a circular economy approach would mean the Council had a greater level of influence and more targeted approach in the waste system through:

• Waste - phasing in an improved recycling and rubbish collection service for all households.
• Diverted materials – targeting particular recyclable materials (including organics/food/garden waste) and reducing contamination rates through increased number and effectiveness of local drop off facilities.
• Ensuring the ability to dispose of waste locally through extending the life of Green Island and enabling the development of Smooth Hill.

The approach best meets the investment objectives, including influence of the waste system, reduced carbon emissions and ensuring quality of service for people of Dunedin.

What is a circular economy - Ōhanga āmiomio?

The DCC has a zero waste vision for the city; encouraging and supporting a circular economy would help this become a reality.

In a circular economy, everything people use to live, work and play is designed to be reused, repaired, or safely returned to the environment, so the materials they are made of are never wasted. Simply put, there’s no such thing as rubbish in a circular economy.

At the moment most of the things we use to live, work and play are part of a traditional linear economy, i.e., they are made from natural resources, used and then disposed of, usually to a landfill.

To become more sustainable, we have introduced aspects of a recycling economy, where a number of products can be reused, such as some plastics, metal, paper, glass and garden waste. But many products are still going to landfill and some emit carbon as they decompose.

Products in circular economies are designed so that they can be reused or returned to nature in an eco-friendly way, providing opportunities for cost savings, technological innovation, employment and an improved environment.

For more information about circular economy thinking and activities in both an Aotearoa New Zealand and an international context see the Ministry for the Environment Circular Economy website.

The Business Case approach is a principles-based process for making smart investment decisions to deliver good public value.

It does this through a robust and staged investigation of the issues and then deciding on the best ways to address them. The process helps to ensure that both the investigations and the agreed actions provide value for money, focus on doing the right things in the right way, at the right time and place, and for the right cost.

The process is used in New Zealand and internationally. It is used for all major Government investment and by the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.

We are using this process for Waste Futures to ensure a smart approach to the investigation and decision making of our future operating model.

For more information about the Business Case approach see the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi and The Treasury websites.