New waste contract approved for Taranaki district councils

Taranaki’s three district councils have signed a new waste contract for the region from October next year. Stratford, South Taranaki, and New Plymouth district councils have signed a 10-year contract with Waste Management NZ which includes new trucks and the ability to better identify recycling contamination.

Stratford District Council Director Assets, Victoria Araba, says the improvement in recycling auditing at the kerbside is an exciting move forward. “This will support our ongoing waste education initiatives to minimise contamination in our recycling, thereby reducing the ‘contaminated recycling’ waste going to landfill.”

The existing kerbside collection service and transfer stations will continue to be operated by Enviro NZ until the new contract starts on 1 October 2024. Stratford residents receiving the kerbside collection service won't need to do anything differently once the new contract is in place.

At a Council meeting last week, elected members adopted a status quo kerbside collection service, which means weeky general rubbish and fortnightly recycling and glass collections will continue. A food waste collection will be included when the government’s mandate comes into effect in 2027. This decision follows community consultation on the district’s draft Waste Minimisation and Management Plan and proposed changes to kerbside waste collection earlier this year.