Waste minimisation

We're aiming to reduce the amount of waste we send to our landfill by a third over the next 10 years. You can help us meet this target.

Reducing waste together

A great place to start living more sustainably is to think about how you, your family, your school, your business and your community can reduce, reuse and recycle.

You can reduce waste by making small changes – buy reusable and refillable rather than disposable and single-use products, take your own bags to the supermarket, choose products with less packaging and buy only what you need.

Before you throw anything away, think whether any part of it can be reused and given another life.

On this page you will find

Waste Management and Minimisation Plan 2023–2029

Less Waste, Greater Place

Porirua City Council, alongside the councils in the Wellington region, recently adopted its Waste Management and Minimisation Plan (WMMP) for 2023 –2029. This is a regional plan that has:

  • nine regional objectives
  • six regional targets
  • 10 regional actions
  • 31 local actions for Porirua City.

Each council in the Wellington region has their own local actions to deliver across the six-year period (2023–2029). The councils will be working together on these.

11824-WMMP-Website_News_68x402-v1FA-Rangituhi

You can read the full WMMP here.

There is also more information on lesswastegreaterplace.co.nz

Thanks to those who made a submission during the consultation on the WMMP in 2023 to help shape and prioritise waste for our city.



Community waste minimisation

  • Think carefully before you buy. Ask yourself if you really need a certain item. If you do, then are there ways of buying it with less packaging or from second-hand stores?
  • Explore if your electrical appliances can be repaired rather than purchased new – you might be able to save yourself money. If you're buying new, check reviews about reliability and buy the best quality you can afford.
  • Share a library of kitchen equipment such as camping gear, tools, books, toys, yard equipment with your friends to avoid everyone buying their own.
  • Swap clothes with family and friends when your family members are bored of them or outgrow them.
  • Buy in bulk to avoid packaging.
  • Invest in reusable products over single-use products whenever you can.
  • Carry your own drink bottle when out and about to avoid purchasing disposable water bottles.
  • Carry your own metal/silicone/paper/edible straws and reusable cup outside the house.
  • Porirua City Council waste minimisation staff can provide presentations/engagements to support communities in understanding waste minimisation. If you would like to find out more, please get in touch at [email protected]
  • Make sure you're recycling right at the kerb. Nationwide standardisation of kerbside recycling is being rolled out across Aotearoa. This will create uniformity about what can and cannot be recycled countrywide. Recycling correctly saves our precious resources from going to landfill and keeps us away from manufacturing more virgin materials.
  • Avoiding food waste is the best option. However, food scraps, egg shells, etc can be home composted. Composting is a good way of recovering food waste. There are various options for composting, like using a bokashi bin and worm composting depending on the quantity of food waste and the availability of open space.

If you have a need for something, new is not always better! Consider that second-hand products might be of a higher quality and lower cost than their ‘new’ alternatives.

Porirua has a number of businesses that offer a great selection of quality second-hand products. They will help you find what you need at the right price while ensuring the longevity of our precious resources.

Here are some businesses that sell second-hand products:

Water refill

Statistics and information

Porirua Litter Analysis 2019 –2023

This report outlines the findings of various litter audits in Porirua from 2019 to 2023. Undertaking litter audits allows us to interpret existing litter data and is useful for creating awareness, and encouraging behaviour change to reduce litter in our city.

You can read the full report here.

Report on Community Waste Minimisation survey

In March 2023 we surveyed the community on their thoughts of waste minimisation in Porirua. The survey results have highlighted several areas of potential growth and change with regards to waste reduction and reuse behaviour within our city.

You can read the full report here.

Other resources


We are part of the national Love Food Hate Waste NZ campaign which aims to help Kiwi families to waste less food.  For practical tips on how to reduce your own food waste and save money, visit lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz.

Here are some interesting statistics about NZ food waste: 

  • NZ families waste about $560 each year on food which is uneaten and thrown out. 
  • This adds up to a staggering $872 million for the whole country.
  • We throw away 122,547 tonnes of food annually.
  • This is enough to feed 262,917 people or 4.5 times the population of Porirua for a year. 
  • Bread is the most wasted item, with 20 million loaves thrown away each year.

    Get in touch:

    +64 4 237 5089

    [email protected]

    Connect:

    Site details:

      

    Site details: