The current Bylaw says that Council can require a construction site Waste Management and Minimisation Plan (WMMP) to be prepared for any non-residential building project with a value of $500,000 or higher. Essentially, only commercial and industrial projects fall within this scope. In 2023/24 there were 13 non-residential consents of that value issued.

Importantly, Council chooses not to enforce this part of its Bylaw for a variety of reasons (see the Q&A section at the bottom of the page).

One advantage in having powers in the Bylaw, is that if building waste becomes a bigger issue in the future, we'll already have a tool in the toolkit. Two years ago, the Government was looking at making WMMPs mandatory under its “Building for climate change” programme. The current Government has not picked up that idea, however if that changes, we are at least partly ready.

What are we proposing?

The draft Bylaw proposes a change where Council can require a construction site WMMP to be prepared for any building project with a value of $500,000 or higher. Residential projects make up the bulk of Council’s consenting work. Over the last three years, Council has processed an average of 606 residential consents each year; around 106 of those were valued over $500,000.

We know that a number of local builders are already voluntarily managing their waste as part of their business practice and in these cases, they are doing it for both residential and non-residential work.

Importantly, Council is not proposing to enforce this part of the Bylaw. We think it makes sense to keep the regulatory options open if circumstances change, such as the benefits versus cost of having a WMMP become more attractive, or a future Government proposes to make it mandatory.

What are the alternatives?

Status quo – Retain the discretion to ask for a construction site WMMP for non-residential building work only.

No WMMP required under the Bylaw – Do not require a WMMP at all. This essentially leaves it in the hands of the building sector. As noted, some builders have developed their own approaches, or work with waste management specialists to manage this.

Make WMMPs mandatory – Require a WMMP for all work of $500,000 or greater.