What Will the New Wellington Event Waste Bylaws Require?

If you’re looking to put on an event and don’t know where to start with the waste requirements, you’ve come to the right place. The Wellington City Council Solid Waste Management and Minimisation Bylaw 2020 (aaaand breathe) is long and full of information about general waste management around Wellington, however here we have compiled the relevant information regarding Events. 

When?

The event waste management and minimisation plan provisions come into force on 25 January 2022. 

Who will this affect?

An Event is defined as any organised temporary activity of  significant scale that is likely to create litter and includes (but is not limited to) an organised outdoor gathering, open-air market, parade, sporting event, festival, concert or celebration.  

Any outdoor event will be considered significant if it has an expected attendance of 1,000 or more people across the duration of the event, whether it be a single or multi-day event. 

For the purpose of this Bylaw an outdoor ‘event’ excludes any regularly occurring recreational activities such as weekly sports events.  

 Any indoor event will be considered significant if it has an expected attendance of 5,000 or more people across the duration of the event, whether it be a single or multi-day event. For the  purpose of this Bylaw an indoor ‘event’ excludes:  

∙ indoor private functions; and  

∙ any regularly occurring recreational  activities such as weekly sports  events. 

 What will I have to do?

Prior to the commencement of an event, the event manager must submit to the Council for approval an event waste management and minimisation plan for the event. 

For an event with an expected attendance of more than 10,000 people, the event waste management and minimisation plan must be submitted to the Council for approval at least 60 working days prior to the commencement of the event.

For an event with an expected attendance of between 1,000 to 10,000 people, the event waste management and minimisation plan must be submitted to the Council for approval at least 30 working days prior to the commencement of the event.

The event waste management and minimisation plan must set out:
        (a)  An estimate of the types and amounts of waste to be generated by the event;
        (b)  Consideration of the Waste Hierarchy and how waste generated by the event
              is to be minimised;
        (c)  The steps that will be taken to maximise the use of reusable systems, the
              collection and use of recyclables and other recoverables and compostable
              materials, and an estimate of the avoidance and diversion of waste;

       (d) The equipment to be provided for any reusable system and the equipment for
            the storage, collection and transportation of waste and diverted material;
        (e)  The proposed method for minimising and capturing litter associated with the
              event;
        (f)  The person responsible for the collection and disposal of waste and the
              methods to be used;
        (g)  The timing and frequency of the collection of waste, during or after the event;
        (h)  Any other matters relating to event waste management and minimisation that may be specified by the Council.

The manager of an event must comply with the event waste management and minimisation plan approved by the Council for the event.

On completion of the event, the event manager must provide the Council with a waste analysis report, which at a minimum, will include a breakdown of:

• The types of waste generated by the event;

• The amounts of waste (by type) generated by the event;

• The amount of waste avoided and diverted; and

The waste management facilities used to recover, recycle, treat or dispose of this waste.

Non compliance: Where a person does not comply with any of the requirements in clauses 13 (Events) and/or any controls made under the Bylaw, the Council may take one or more of the following steps:
      (a)  Enforce any offence that may have been committed under the Litter Act 1979; and/or
      (b)  Enforce any breach of this Bylaw, as provided for in the Health Act 1956, the Local Government Act 2002 and the Waste Minimisation Act 2008. 

That concludes the overview of the event specific details of the bylaw, to view the full bylaw, click here. 

Or you can check out our Bylaw Blog #1 Wellington City Council Waste Bylaws for Events!