by Duncan Wilson | 3 Apr 2018 | Councils, News, Recent, Recycling, Reports, Waste
Waste Data Indicators are now available! If you want to compare your waste and recycling performance to what happens elsewhere you need to be sure your numbers mean the same things. That is where the new Waste Data Framework Waste Indicators come in. We have worked with WasteMINZ and Waste Not Consulting to come up with a set of indicators that you can use to present and compare waste data. The indicators are:
- 1A – All waste to Class 1 landfills
- 1B – Waste to Class 1 landfills excl. special waste
- 2A – Domestic kerbside waste disposal rate
- 2B – Domestic waste disposal rate
- 3A – Domestic kerbside recycling recovery rate
- 3B – Domestic recycling recovery rate
- 3C – Domestic kerbside recycling contamination rate
All the above indicators are expressed in Kg per capita per annum. For a copy of the indicators and how to calculate them click the download button.
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by Duncan Wilson | 16 Mar 2018 | Councils, News, Presentation, Recent, Reports, Waste
This free webinar on solid waste bylaws was organised by WasteMINZ. It will be invaluable for any TA considering introducing or amending their bylaw or looking to implement the National Waste Data Framework.
During 2017, Eunomia Research & Consulting worked with the Waikato and Bay of Plenty region councils to develop a solid waste bylaw template. The template has been legally reviewed and provides draft clauses for all issues councils are likely to want to cover in their bylaw. It is freely available through WasteMINZ which contributed to the project. The template has been used by a range of councils since it was developed.
The live webinar was on 05 April, 2018. A recording of the webinar is now available if you were not able to join us at the time.
To access the webinar recording, click the button below.
Go to Webinar
by Duncan Wilson | 2 Aug 2017 | article, News, Policy, Recent, Reports, Waste
Duncan Wilson is featured in the August issue of Local Government magazine, talking about the recent Eunomia report on New Zealand’s waste levy. Click the button below to download a copy of the article.
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by Duncan Wilson | 31 Jul 2017 | Reports, Waste
Eunomia has constructed this handy downloadable calculator to help landfill owners assess the potential financial impact of applying for a waste composition or capture and destruction Unique Emissions Factor (UEF).
The file runs in excel and requires version 2003 or more recent. You will also need to enable macros for it to run. If you have any questions or feedback please get in touch at info@eunomia.co.nz
Download
For more information on Unique Emissions Factors for waste see: Guide to Landfill Methane in the ETS
by Duncan Wilson | 23 Jul 2017 | Councils, News, Recent, Recycling, Reports, Waste
Eunomia worked with Auckland Council to produce this zero waste events guide. The guide is designed for the non-waste specialist, in particular event managers. It will help you reduce the amount of waste your events produce and work towards zero waste. It also signposts to useful detail in appendices and special case studies (available from Auckland Council), so you can drill down where you need more information.
Click the button to download a copy of the main guide.
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The key information is also available online through the zero waste events website. Click the link below:
Go to Link
by Duncan Wilson | 2 Jul 2017 | News, Organic, Policy, Recent, Recycling, Reports, Strategy, Sustainability, Waste
Eunomia Research & Consulting undertook research to improve understanding of the impacts of possible changes to the structure and rate of the Waste Disposal Levy.
The study, which was commissioned by a consortium of businesses and councils, showed that there are likely to be real benefits for NZ through putting in place a well-structured levy regime. The research found there would be significant benefits in terms of waste minimisation, employment, and the economy. Key features should include:
- Extending the levy to all types of fills
- A large increase in the rate of the levy
- A differential between ‘active’ waste and ‘inert’ waste
- An escalation to the target rates over time
- Increased monitoring and enforcement, and
- Targeted spending of levy income.
Download the summary report
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Download the full report
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by Duncan Wilson | 5 Jun 2017 | Marine, Policy, Reports, Sustainability, Waste
This report, from Eunomia UK, highlights the potential for a measures-based approach to be more effective at tackling marine plastic litter than setting targets.
Marine plastics are an emerging issue facing policy makers. However, the information we currently have on the impacts of marine plastics is limited. This makes it challenging to identify what a ‘socially optimal’ level of marine plastic pollution would be. The lack of information seems to be encouraging a wide spectrum of policy responses, which range from a complete ban on many kinds of plastic at one extreme, to “do nothing until we’ve improved our data” at the other.
This document reflects upon the data challenge and explains why detailed monitoring of marine litter is difficult, expensive and ultimately, perhaps, unnecessary. It argues that setting reduction targets for marine plastics is unlikely to be effective policy. Instead, it proposes a “Best Available Technique” approach to the selection of measures, similar to the way in which industrial emissions are addressed.
This report is available free of charge. Press the button below to download.
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by mmwd | 12 Apr 2017 | Recent, Recycling, Reports
In this report, prepared jointly with Resource Media, we analyse recycling data from around the world to understand which countries really lead the municipal waste recycling league table.
Some eye-catching headline recycling rates are reported in the media, but the basis on which rates are calculated can vary considerably. In some cases, a great deal of commercial or construction waste is counted, while approaches to accounting for rejects and for intermediate processes like MBT vary considerably. Even within the UK, the four nations now report their recycling on different bases, with Defra producing an annual set of figures that allow the results to be compared on an equal footing.
Both the OECD and the European Commission produce annual municipal waste and recycling statistics, which eliminate some (but far from all) of the inconsistencies. However, there are a few high recyclers that are members of neither organisation – Singapore and Taiwan, for example, report recycling rates above 55%. Bringing these data together allow us to present a world league table of reported recycling rates, which shows Germany as the world leader on 66%.
This is only the start of the story, though, as these figures don’t really compare like with like. Taking account of the different ways of counting, Germany remains in top spot, but is less than two percentage points ahead of Taiwan, which rises to second place, while Wales is in third.
The report also shows the rapid progress that Wales is making, and that the coutry is rapidly closing in on Germany’s established place at the top of the chart.
This report is available free of charge. Press the silver button and supply a few details about yourself in order to access the download.
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by Duncan Wilson | 2 Apr 2017 | article, Councils, Procurement, Recycling, Reports, Waste
The rise in popularity of private wheeled bin rubbish collections means an increasing number of councils in NZ are finding themselves with some tough decisions to make about how they provide services. Duncan Wilson provides insight and perspective in this article for LG Magazine.
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by Duncan Wilson | 22 Jun 2016 | News, Recent, Reports, Waste
One of the biggest barriers to managing our waste better in NZ is a lack of good data. We worked with WasteMINZ, the Ministry for the Environment and Waste Not Consulting to develop the first step to better data.
The development of the national waste data framework has taken the following form:
- A staged approach for developing a national waste data framework, focusing initially on the most important elements while also setting out a clear ‘upgrade’ path to include other elements.
- The first stage of the framework (which is now complete) includes data on waste disposed of at levied disposal sites, information on waste services and infrastructure as well as other areas where practicable
- Subsequent stages of the framework (to be addressed in the future) will include more detailed data on diverted materials and waste disposed of at non-levied disposal sites.
The National Waste Data Framework does the following:
- Establishes a set of definitions to act as a common language for collecting and reporting waste data
- Determines what data is gathered
- Determines who gathers this data
- Specifies how the target data is gathered
- Directs who data is reported to
- Sets out how the data that is collected is collated and presented
The first stage of the framework is freely available for anyone to download.
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by Duncan Wilson | 22 Oct 2014 | News, Presentation, Recycling, Reports, Waste
View this presentation on ‘The Horror of 240 Litre Wheeled Bins’ from the WasteMINZ Conference 2014. In this presentation Duncan Wilson presents a range of data that demonstrates how large wheeled bins for rubbish drive wasteful behaviour. Simply put, big bins encourage people to throw out more stuff. Most of the extra stuff people put in the bins is garden waste. But there is also more recyclable material, and other things like tree stumps and TVs that should be recovered or properly disposed of. The data is compelling. It is more relevant than ever as private wheeled bins services become more popular. Such services can undermine efforts to recover and recycle.
Click the button below to download a copy of the presentation.
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by Duncan Wilson | 19 May 2013 | Councils, Recycling, Reports, Waste
This waste stocktake report has been undertaken to help construct a comprehensive picture of waste management in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions. It provides a snapshot of the current situation, and highlights key gaps and opportunities. This report updates and expands on separate waste stocktake reports conducted for the regions in 2007.
Common actions identified in the WMMPs included increasing kerbside recycling, organic waste collections (10/16 councils), RTS management and pricing, improving data collection, actioning solid waste bylaws, improving infrastructure, collaboration – including lobbying of central government (for example on product stewardship), communications and education, and facilitating reuse. Common themes in the WMMPs include:
- concerns around the Emissions Trading Scheme and rising disposal costs
- the ongoing presence of recyclables in the residual waste stream, even with recycling services in place
- lack of appropriate or sufficient facilities for waste and diverted materials within the districts or regions
- lack of data, both for council-controlled waste streams and those managed by the private sector
- opportunities to save costs and/or increase efficiency and effectiveness through collaboration
- significant proportions of organic waste in the residual waste stream
- addressing specific waste types such as hazardous and agricultural wastes.
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