Solutions sought for food waste woes
With the equivalent of 250,000 apples worth of food waste piling up, a new council waste minimisation initiative hopes to tackle its district’s food waste woes.
Matamata-Piako District Council is pouring thousands into a waste minimisation fund which calls for the community to develop sustainable and innovative solutions for redirecting 40 tonnes of food waste from landfill.
The waste minimisation fund was included in the council 2021-2027 Waste Minimisation and Management Plan (WMMP), which was consulted on in 2021.
Community proposals will have the opportunity to apply for up to $10,000 towards their waste minimisation projects from the waste levy (the tax Central Government charges for waste disposal).
Transition Matamata is a non- profit sustainability group promoting energy conservation, reducing toxic fertilizer and waste minimisation based in Matamata township.
Coordinator for the community group, Martin Louw said the waste minimisation fund was a decent initiative because instead of relying on kerbside food scraps and waste collection, there needed to be more sustainable and regenerative solutions to reduce waste.
The group would like to see council create a sustainability strategy, so there’s an allencompassing approach towards tackling waste.
‘‘Everyone should essentially be composting everything that’s coming out of their kitchen, either composting or worm farms, whatever their chosen setup is, we shouldn’t need to have a universal food scrap collection,’’ said Louw.
‘‘If we can just raise awareness about the need to deal with your own waste where you can.’’
The projects for the fund will mainly need to focus on reducing food waste, but other ideas will be considered, council has said.
Matamata-Piako Councillor Adrienne Wilcock, who chairs the Matamata-Piako District Council Solid Waste Committee said she was excited to see what projects come forward.
‘‘We’re looking for innovative ideas that could be any number of things, especially with a focus on food waste and what could be done with food waste, so it doesn’t end up in landfill.
‘‘I am excited to see locals lead the charge in waste reduction through their projects that could use a kickstart through the fund.’’
Applications for the Waste Minimisation Fund are open until May 13.