Catherine Stewart Tauranga City Councillor

Council is seeking your feedback and ideas regarding the city's rubbish and waste.

There are opportunities to recycle and compost more. Worm bins are a great way to reduce waste by utilising food scraps. The resulting worm juice is good for the garden.

Council is to investigate a rates-funded kerbside collection. Additional staff will be required to implement some aspects of the proposed plan. Unfortunately, there is no cost given to help weigh up the pros and cons of extra staff requirements versus the existing user-pays options.

Diverting as much waste from landfill is essential as the city grows – but how we get there is the question.

Tauranga's Draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan is now open for submissions from the community. Submissions can be made at www.tauranga.govt,nz/wasteproblem

More information, including a summary of the waste problem and summary of the draft plan, can be found on council's website.