Draft WMMP FAQs

The Waste Management and Minimisation Plan (WMMP) is a six-yearly plan required by law that sets the strategic direction for how waste will be reduced, reused, recycled, and managed across the district. It establishes goals and actions to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill and improve resource recovery.

The Waste Management and Minimisation Plan must be reviewed every six years under the Waste Minimisation Act 2008. The review helps ensure our waste services continue to meet the needs of our growing district while reducing waste sent to landfill and improving resource recovery.

We need to consider changes because Selwyn is growing and we are creating more waste. If we don’t make changes, we risk more waste, higher costs, and greater environmental impacts. Our community, working together, can reduce and better manage waste, we can keep costs down, lower emissions, and make better use of valuable resources.

Council must consult with the community on the Draft WMMP every 6 years – this is required by legislation.

Council is intending to tender the kerbside collection contract in early 2027, with a 1 July 2029 start date. If any significant changes to kerbside collections were to occur, then these would need to be factored into the upcoming tender.

No decisions have been made. We are seeking community views and feedback on possible options.

The draft plan presents options for community consideration. Consultation allows Council to understand community preferences before making final decisions.[

Selwyn District Council is currently reviewing the future of waste services as part of developing a new Waste Management and Minimisation Plan. No decisions have been made. The full Draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan is now available for download. In the plan, possible changes to kerbside collections are outlined. More information is available on our consultation site.

Any potential changes would not occur immediately. Following consultation, Council would need to make decisions, complete procurement processes and provide advance notice before introducing any service changes.

Any changes to kerbside services would not occur until July 2029.

More information about the Draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan, including consultation materials and how to provide feedback, is available on our dedicated Draft WMMP Consultation page.

Community feedback will be considered alongside technical assessments, environmental impacts, costs and legislative requirements before Council makes any final decisions on the Waste Management and Minimisation Plan.

Council wants to hear all views. Consultation provides an opportunity for residents to support, oppose or suggest alternatives to the options presented in the draft plan.

Yes, Selwyn District Council have appointed a third-party research company to recruit participants for a telephone-based survey relating to the Draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan.

Selwyn District Council has engaged an independent research provider to support community research on the Draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan. Some households may be contacted during September and invited to take part. Council has advised the community through the Selwyn Times and social media and community pages.

Personal information collected as part of the research will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and the requirements of the research project.

The research provider is required to handle information appropriately and may only use it for the purposes of the research project, subject to the terms of its agreement with Council and applicable privacy requirements.

Under the Privacy Act, personal information can only be used or shared when there is a lawful reason to do so. The Privacy Act allows information to be used or disclosed for purposes that are directly related to the reason it was originally collected, including research that helps Council plan and improve those services.

In this case, the research is directly related to Council's waste management services and future planning.

Any research is carried out on Council's behalf by an independent research provider under strict privacy and confidentiality requirements. Information gathered through the research is used for research purposes only, and findings are reported in a way that does not identify individual participants.

Participation in the research is completely voluntary. If you are contacted, you can choose whether or not you would like to take part.

The findings will inform the consultation process and help ensure the information provided during consultation addresses the issues that matter most to residents. Undertaking this research will also help Council present information and design consultation questions in a way that is meaningful, easy to understand and relevant to the community, enabling residents to provide informed feedback.

We recognise that households have different needs. Larger households can choose larger red bin sizes or additional capacity through the user-pays system. The proposed service is designed to provide flexibility so households can select the option that works best for them.

We would be offering:

• A range of bin sizes (including larger options)

• A user-pays model where the community can upsize, downsize or add bins

• Education and tips on how to easily separate organic waste

• Odour and hygiene issues are unlikely if food and garden waste is kept out of the red rubbish bin and placed in the organics bin.

• Residents can also help reduce odour by keeping bin lids closed and storing bins out of direct sunlight where possible.

• Fortnightly rubbish collection is common practice amongst other NZ councils and across Australia, UK and Europe.

Council understands that some households generate additional waste due to nappies, continence products or medical requirements. Any future service changes would consider how these households can access sufficient waste capacity.

Many councils that have introduced fortnightly rubbish collection alongside organics collections have reported reductions in waste sent to landfill and increased use of recycling and organics services.

Council will continue to provide information and education to help residents use services correctly. Experience from other councils shows participation improves over time as residents become familiar with the system.

The organics bin is for food scraps and garden waste. A full list of accepted materials can be found on Council's dedicated Organic Collection page.

Organic material collected from households is processed into compost. This ensures that valuable resources are recovered and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Home composting is encouraged and remains an excellent way to reduce waste. If you already compost food scraps and garden waste, you may find you need less rubbish bin capacity. The proposed changes are intended to complement, not replace, home composting.

Materials accepted in the kerbside recycling are limited by what the recycling processing plant can sort, as well as the recycling commodity markets.

For most households there will be a cost reduction. Final costs will depend on household choices of different bin sizes to suit their needs.

Yes, the red bin charges will decrease. The degree of reduction in cost will be determined following the tendering of kerbside collection services.

Services are funded through a combination of targeted rates and user-pays services. Information on how waste services are funded is available through Council's Long-Term Plan and annual budgets.

The primary purpose of the review is to reduce waste to landfill, improve resource recovery and ensure services remain fit for purpose as Selwyn grows. Cost efficiency is one factor considered alongside environmental, legislative and community outcomes.

Yes. Experience in New Zealand and overseas shows that reducing the frequency of rubbish collections encourages people to divert more food scraps, garden waste and recyclables from their red bins.

Removing food and garden waste from landfill has one of the biggest impacts on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as organic waste produces methane when it breaks down. For Selwyn, if all food and garden waste were diverted from red bins, the emissions saved would be equivalent to taking around 10,000 return car trips between Rolleston and Auckland off the road each year, or approximately 21 million kilometres of car travel.

These changes can help reduce waste sent to landfill, increase recycling and composting, and support Selwyn's goal of lowering emissions and creating a more sustainable future.

As a community, we can sometimes feel powerless to reduce our environmental impact, yet small changes made collectively can achieve significant results. An easy way that each of us can contribute is to separate our food waste and garden waste and not put it in the red bin.

If we don’t make changes, we risk more waste, higher costs, and greater environmental impacts. Our community, working together can reduce and better manage waste, we can keep costs down, lower emissions, and make better use of valuable resources.