Column by Geoff Hayward, Porirua City Cr for Onepoto
One of the things I wished I had as a decision maker was either a time machine, or someone to sound an alarm before a crisis point occurred.
I’m not Dr. Emmett Brown but I can sound the alarm. Waste isn’t a sexy issue, but I reckon it is a basic thing when it comes to what councils are supposed to do.
In the middle of last year the PM in a speech designed to tell off councils said “do the basics and do them well”.
Here’s what he forgot: councils can do the basics well, but they cannot do it alone. The Beehive has to play its part too.
So, it’s hard to not see it as cynical when Mr Luxon chides councils…and then just before this past Christmas they pulled back on four nationwide policies to improve recycling, including diversion of organic waste.
This is in addition to potential changes to the waste minimisation levy regime being done with little or no engagement with local councils. Considering that the pūtea collected through the levy is shared with local councils, a reduction in the amount collected, or what the fund can be used for creates uncertainty for local councils to make good long term decisions that are cost effective. It also costs you the ratepayer more as well.
The consequences of not pushing ahead on things like product stewardship with manufacturers and retailers, or container return schemes, or accelerating the diversion of organic waste aren’t hypothetical…it is happening right now in Porirua.
The Spicer Landfill is working through its issues with malodours, and it is making meaningful progress, though the job is not done yet and our council (who owns that site) cannot seek an extension of the relevant resource consents to operate the plant until it is resolved. But more importantly, the end date of the landfill in its current state is rapidly approaching: anything we do to reduce the volume of waste that ends up there gives us time to plan for what happens next.
Meanwhile, it’s an election year and you might see candidates call for a slowdown in our local efforts on household collection improvements because “it costs ratepayers too much”.
No one who held off doing the right thing paid less for it when they eventually paid the price. It’s almost the same tune as what is being sung from the beehive, and it will mean a bigger problem for Porirua not that far down the line.
Have we not learnt the lesson from four decades of running down our Three Waters? Delaying improvements to our rubbish collection, including changes to recycling and organics will create a crisis that will be even more expensive to solve.
My two cents is this: you can’t kick the can down the road when it comes to our rubbish.