Council's role

The councils of the Greater Wellington region work together to create our waste management and minimisation plan, as we can achieve more when we work together. As a region, our vision is Waste free, together – for people, environment, and economy.

Our role

Council's role is outlined in full in the Wellington region waste management and minimisation plan. We work with other councils in the region to develop and implement the plan, and ensure our approach is in line with our partner councils. We have a joint goal of reducing waste to class 1 landfills by one-third by 2026. All our resources, facilities/schemes and education are aimed at supporting this goal.  

At its highest level, our role is to:

• collect and manage data under the National Waste Data Framework
• provide leadership and management
• manage:
  • regulations
  • engagement
  • collections
  • infrastructure.

Regional approach

As well as the role outlined above, we work with the other councils across the region to develop the:

• Waste Minimisation Education Strategy [PDF 1.23 MB] (WMES)
• Wellington Region Waste Assessment 2016 [PDF 12.97 MB]

 These documents help us as a region understand how we're doing at minimising our waste, and then how we can support our communities to further minimise waste.

Solid Waste Analysis Protocol (SWAP) waste surveys

Kāpiti Coast District Council commissions a SWAP waste survey for the Kāpiti District every 3–4 years. The survey audits the types of waste being disposed of to landfill in Kāpiti, through:

• a six-day visual survey of waste disposed of at the Otaihanga and Ōtaki transfer stations
• a five-day sort-and-weigh kerbside waste audit of kerbside collections.

These surveys help us to:

• monitor changes in the waste stream over time
• assess the effectiveness of existing initiatives
• identify new waste minimisation initiatives.

Read the 2017 SWAP report – Composition of waste in Kāpiti Coast District – 2017 [PDF 1.98 MB].