More waste from building sites will be repurposed and saved from landfill through Whakatāne District Council and Community Resources Whakatāne’s (CReW) joint project “Building Whakatāne with Waste”.

The project has successfully been awarded funding from the Waste Minimisation Fund, administered by the Ministry for the Environment.

The “Building Whakatāne with Waste” project aims to increase the amount of construction and demolition waste diverted from landfill while educating our communities on the possibilities and advantages for diverting and reusing.

Whakatāne District Council’s Manager Solid Waste, Nigel Clarke said waste is often viewed as something we have no use for, but really it can often be a resource that we throw away.

“Many items that are discarded in landfill can be re-used and re-purposed which in turn reduces demand on our natural resources.”

“We at Council are committed to reducing waste so we’re delighted to partner with CReW on this project which should help the shift from a take, make, dispose model to a circular re-use model,” he said.

CReW General Manager Claire Pye said it was an exciting project for CReW. 

“The Ministry for the Environment support will strengthen the work we do to minimise waste. The project also comes at a time when CReW has an opportunity to expand its operations on the Te Tahi St site,” she said.

Key features of the “Building Whakatāne with Waste” project include redesigning the CReW premises so it can accommodate more construction and demolition waste. The project will also provide containers to building sites so re-useable materials can be easily separated, it will collect re-useable materials and work with local timber companies to take off-cuts and re-useable waste. Education and workshops will also be offered to both builders and home DIYers.

Sixty percent of the project costs will be met by the Waste Minimisation Fund (WMF) with CReW funding 20% and Council funding the remaining 20% through its central government waste levy funding.  The cost of the project is $239,800, there will be no financial impact on ratepayers.

The purpose of Te Pūtea Whakamauru Para – the WMF is to boost New Zealand’s performance in waste minimisation. The WMF invests in infrastructure, services, and educational activity throughout New Zealand. The fund is enabled through the waste disposal levy.

There is considerable scope in New Zealand to reduce waste and increase the recovery of useful resources from waste. Lifting our performance in recovering economic value from waste also provides environmental, social and cultural benefits and reduces the risks of harm from waste. More information about the fund can be found on the Ministry for the Environment website.