There will be "little changes" for Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty District Council areas after the improved Government kerbside recycling policy.

Both Tauranga City Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council say they are already up to the new policy's standards.

The Government policy, announced by Minister for the Environment David Parker, "ensure that where waste is recycled, for instance by households at the kerbside, it is less likely to be contaminated by material that cannot be used".

The initiatives are to improve and standardise household kerbside recycling, collect organics including food scraps, along with "more comprehensive" waste legislation.

'New Zealand is one of the highest generators of waste per person in the world, every year producing about 750kg per person. At home, we only recycle and compost about one-third of household waste,” says Environment Minister David Parker.

Environment Minister David Parker. Photo: RNZ.

'The way we create and manage waste is way behind many other developed countries, but with these improvements, we're putting the right foundations in place to bring our waste and recycling systems up to global standards.”

Tauranga City Council sustainability and waste manager Dan Smith says the council-run kerbside service has allowed "over 60,000 households to divert 18,727 tonnes of waste from landfill" in 18 months.

"The clearest win for our environment is the 7,690,00kg of food and garden waste collected and sent for composting.

"The announcement is something that we believe is set to reduce the effects associated with waste in Aotearoa both on the environment and within our communities. Reducing waste to landfill is a key action for Tauranga City Council's climate change response, and all of Aotearoa is set to benefit from the changes in how waste is viewed and treated."

Photo: Tauranga City Council.

Dan adds the council is "not expecting" to change either kerbside collection or food scraps collection, given Tauranga already has the initiatives in place.

"The improved legislation will allow better accountability and responsibility for all for how we make, use, manage, and dispose of things, including helping Councils tackle litter and illegal dumping issues."

Western Bay of Plenty District Council deputy CEO and general manager of infrastructure Gary Allis says they are "supportive" of the changes to the kerbside recycling system across the country.

"They promote consistency and help to remove any confusion for our communities who are already enthusiastic recyclers.

Photo: File/SunLive.

'The reality is, we are already providing kerbside recycling and food waste collections in our urban areas that align with the initiatives announced by the Minister for the Environment, so there's little change for us.

'Our system goes beyond the government's base service structure because as part of the kerbside collective service we provide a kerbside recycling service to 18,739 properties, (12,144 full service - all bins) which includes 6,595 rural properties (without foodwaste collections). We also run a valued mobile recycling service that goes into rural areas and we provide urban community recycling centres that accept the recyclables mentioned.

'We look forward to working alongside and with the support of Ministry for the Environment to implement a circular economy where environmental damage is minimised and we help to address climate change.”