Whanganui councillors to reconsider food scraps service
Published on 05 March 2025
Whanganui District Council will hold an extraordinary meeting on Monday 10 March to reconsider the proposed kerbside food scraps service after a recent change to central government policy reversing plans to make it compulsory for all councils.
Whanganui District Council Chief Executive Officer, David Langford, says in preparation for the meeting, council officers have been directed to prepare a report outlining the pros and cons of going ahead with the service and the risks associated with cancelling it.
“It’s fair to say councillors have been put in a tricky situation since central government’s announcement on 18 December 2024 that it would no longer go ahead with making it compulsory for all councils across New Zealand to introduce a kerbside food scraps service.
“Each time we have consulted the community, there has been relatively low levels of support for the new service. The government’s policy to make it compulsory was a significant factor in some elected members’ decision-making when they gave kerbside food scraps the green light in 2022.
“Now that it has been confirmed that it won’t become compulsory for councils to provide a food scraps collection, it is appropriate for the Council to reconsider introducing a new rates-funded service, particularly given the current economic climate and the on-going cost-of-living crisis.”
Langford says the decision for elected members won’t be an easy one and he asked that the community remains respectful.
“Balancing long-term environmental considerations around waste minimisation and climate change against the immediate economic impact a new targeted rate would have on Whanganui households is challenging. Parts of our community are for the service and other parts are against it. No matter what decision the Council makes, it will be wrong in some people’s eyes. It’s ok to disagree, but please do it in a kind and respectful manner as the elected members grapple with a difficult decision on behalf of the community”.
The Extraordinary Council Meeting will be held at 5.30pm on Monday 10 March.
“We know that this issue has a high level of public interest. We have scheduled the meeting for outside of normal working hours to make it more accessible to the public to attend or to tune in to the online live stream”.