On the hunt for zero waste

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Thu, 02 Feb 2012 7:00p.m.

Ever asked for your cucumber without the plastic wrap, or your steak without the tray? You might want to soon.

In Auckland the council is set to charge us for our waste, and a law passed three years ago means councils around the country are preparing radical new waste plans which for most of us means it'll hit us where it hurts - in the pocket.

Mihingarangi Forbes went looking for examples of zero waste systems

Watch the video for her full report

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Comments

03 Feb 2012 06:34p.m.

Mike wrote:

We should have user pays for rubbish just like we have user pays for electricity.

We should have our rates reduced by its rubbish contribution, then be charged for the rubbish we make. Maybe even charge a bit of profit to make an incentive to reduce rubbish. Maybe if we charged double the cost of rubbish we could reduce rates generally for the public. This would lead to less waste and a more enviromentally friendly country.

Of course some will argue its not in the treaty so it shouldn't apply to them, or that its a tax on the poor as the poor often have more takeaways etc than everyone else.

We should have one rule, not different rules based on race. We should have no people claiming excemptions due to their bludging status.

03 Feb 2012 06:33p.m.

Stephen wrote:

This hunt for profit by charging for rubish is total looting... The loosers will be the parks and the Waitakere's, the rubbish dumped in the park next to us is already over the top, it will get out of hand if they push it even further.. If you are interested send a reporter and I'll show you Stephen

03 Feb 2012 07:42a.m.

floral paisley wrote:

Yes back when households were larger but had less rubbish for the bin. Jars where used for jams and preserves, paper bags recycled, food scraps and garden clippings composted, news papers and boxes were burned as kindling. Everything was saved , nothing was wasted . That was the 70s.

03 Feb 2012 01:03a.m.

Tim Marshall wrote:

Good on you for running this story. Waste disposal is a huge problem that doesn't get a lot of attention because it usually falls in the important but not urgent category. It's complex because it involves so many different parties - the councils have responsibility for rubbish disposal, but they can only charge ratepayers who aren't always the same as the consumers who generate the waste, who individually have very little choice over how the goods they buy are packaged or how quickly they become out-dated and irreparable. Meanwhile central government health and safety regulators - often as part of international accords - increasingly require goods to be packaged so much that our great grandparents wouldn't recognise them. I remember buying a freshly baked Sunday loaf from the dairy with just a strip of white paper sellotaped around the middle of the loaf - is there any chance of going back to those days? So are we all going to grow our own veges and refuse to buy new phones, computers, tvs? Nope - some of us might but it's not going to solve the problem. The crunch is coming because we're running out of landfill space and no-one wants the next landfill to be next to their farm or country estate. The Auckland council making rubbish disposal user pays attracts media attention - which is a good thing. But what next? Is that going to trigger local ratepayer/consumer action/revolt that forces retailers to demand manufacturers to reduce or change their packaging and make their products fully reusable/recyclable? It's possible I guess, but seems unlikely, especially as many products are imported. Perhaps we need a Jamie Oliver or Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall of waste - a charismatic, authentic, out-there person who can link the council-ratepayer-consumer-retailer-manufacturer-government regulator chain so we can eliminate the Eden Park-wide SkyTower high mountain of waste we produce each year.