Recently, the government announced that the city and district councils around the country (73 in all) will receive the first payment from the Waste Minimisation Fund of $3 million dollars. The Waste Minimisation Fund is made up of the levies taken from landfills from around the country.
“The Waste Minimisation Act discourages waste disposal by imposing a levy of $10 per tonne of waste on disposal facilities such as landfills. Half of the money collected is allocated to councils on a population basis to spend on minimising waste in their area and the remaining levy money, minus administration costs, is made available for waste projects and education through the Waste Minimisation Fund.” said Environment Minister Hon. Dr. Nick Smith.
Here is how much each council will get in Canterbury:
- Christchurch City Council $263,175
- Timaru District Council $32,378
- Waimakariri District Council $32,353
- Selwyn District Council $25,428
- Ashburton District Council $20,674
- Hurunui District Council $7,913
- Kaikoura District Council $2,735
That’s a total of $384,656. Even though this is an excellent use of the levy from landfills the question is – will this money be enough to fund priority waste minimisation projects across Canterbury councils? Will it be enough to make a real and lasting difference to our waste?
More information here and here.
The Kate Valley Landfill site looking South-East
Tags: funding, landfill, levy, mfe, ministry for the environment, Nick Smith, reduce, waste, Waste Minimisation Act
