Regional Waste Forum held on Kāpiti Coast brings people together to reduce waste

Kāpiti Coast District Council is hosting a regional waste forum to look at ways of reducing the amount of waste to landfill, especially from the construction and demolition sector.

In Kāpiti, as in many other regions, construction and demolition waste is the largest portion (56 percent) of our total waste. Regionally, we’re in danger of running out of room in our landfills.

Council waste projects manager Robbie Stillwell says Kāpiti is working with the community, neighbouring councils, and the wider waste sector through the Wellington Region Waste Forum on ways of tackling this material mountain and care for our resources.

“We’re developing sustainable solutions to make a lasting impact for a cleaner, greener future,” he said.

“This August Kāpiti Coast District Council is hosting the Wellington Region Waste Forum’s quarterly event to discuss and showcase waste and resource recovery systems.

“A highlight will be to show off the newly opened Otaihanga Zero Waste hub,” Mr Stillwell said.

The operation of the site is a joint venture between Sustainability Trust and Localised. Council has worked with these organisations to establish the site and provide a grant to help get them started.

“It’s great to have this resource and recovery facility in our district where construction and demolition waste can go to be diverted from landfill and re-purposed at very little cost to businesses and our community,” Mr Stillwell said.

Waste and resource recovery systems have many benefits for communities, businesses, and individuals he said.

“Diverting waste from landfill helps us reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It reduces the costs of disposing of waste because it costs less to recover this material than dump it. It extends the capacity and therefore the life of our landfills. And it makes better use of precious and limited resources,” Mr Stillwell said.

The Waste Forum will be held on Friday 16 August at the Civic Centre in Paraparaumu, with a ‘field trip’ to Otaihanga Zero Waste in the afternoon.

It brings together expert speakers and the ‘who's who’ of sustainable waste minimisation practice in the Wellington region and beyond, Mr Stillwell said.

The speakers are:

• Auckland-based Matthew Luxon, CE of Localised, to talk about the infrastructure for resource recovery.
• Dr Emina Petrovic, of Victoria University’s architecture faculty, will share her professional interest in material selection, sustainable design, and international perspectives.
• Kāpiti builder Kyle Tonks will speak to his company's journey towards dramatically reducing the amount of waste that needs to go to landfill from residential builds, and the early days of working with Otaihanga Zero Waste.
• Otaihanga Zero Waste general manager Ben Wakefield will talk about resource recovery from construction.

The Wellington Regional Waste Forum champions waste minimisation, facilitates resource recovery, and fosters environmentally sound practices. The event will also showcase some local businesses who demonstrate those practices.

Kāpiti coffee business The Roastery, a 2023 recipient of a Waste Levy Grant to expand its sustainable practices, will serve delicious coffee.

Wellington-based caterer Seeds to Feeds will provide lunch and a short talk about the origins of the food and their kaupapa of harnessing locally sourced food to connect people to each other, themselves, and their place.

In-person tickets have all gone, but you can book tickets to attend the morning guest speaker sessions free online at: events.humanitix.com/wellington-region-waste-forum.