Waste minimisation at events

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What you need to cover to minimise waste at your event

Following the introduction of the Solid Waste Management and Minimisation Bylaw 2021, events expecting 1000 or more attendees must submit a Waste Minimisation Plan to Council for approval.

This plan is designed to help you identify the waste you expect to generate and how it can be reduced. The overall goal is to minimise waste at your event.

All you need to do is fill in our Waste Minimisation at Events Form or alternatively hire an event waste management company such as: Nonstop Solutions (community and large events), Organic Wealth (community and large events) and Closed Loop (large events only).

The form should take about 15 minutes to complete. To make it easier you can save your progress and finish it later. If you have any questions please contact waste@huttcity.govt.nz.

We encourage all event organisers to consider and implement ways to reduce litter and waste at events, even when a plan is not required under the Bylaw.

Your plan will need to cover:

  • What waste will be created at your event
  • Estimated total waste volume that your event will generate for each waste type
  • How and when this waste will be collected, both during and after your event
  • Waste minimisation initiatives
  • Expected diversion from landfill

You will also need to have a site plan which includes the location of:

  • Waste stations
  • Waste sorting and/or storage facilities
  • Signage
  • Site entry and exit points
  • Food and beverage vendors
  • Merchandise
  • All public litter bins at the event site
  • The route collection vehicles will use to access the waste storage facilities during the event, if applicable

Before you start your plan, read over the guides below which can assist you when completing your plan:

Waste Minimisation Guide (PDF 3.75MB)

Event Packaging Guidelines (PDF 3.8 MB)

Plans must be submitted to Council at least 30 working days before the event starts. A member of our Solid Waste Team will be in contact with you once the plan has been submitted with any further actions needed.

Plans must be submitted by the event manager. If your event is at Lower Hutt Events Centre, Ricoh Sports Centre, or Walter Nash, please have a chat to the venue manager to see how they can help assist you. For other venues, it is also a good idea to work with the venue manager for working out logistics of your plan.

You do not need to complete a plan if your event is an indoor private function or for any regularly occurring recreational activities such as weekly sports events.

The below groups offer services to assist with creating Waste Minimisation Plans as well as managing waste on the day.

Nonstop Solutions (community and large events)
Organic Wealth (community and large events)
Closed Loop (large events only)

On completion of your event, you will also need to provide Council with a waste analysis report. This report should include a breakdown of:

  • The types of waste generated by the event
  • The amount of waste (by type) generated by the event
  • The amount of waste diverted and avoided
  • The waste management facilities used to recover, recycle, treat or dispose of this waste
  • How well did you meet your waste diversion targets? Is there anything you or Council could have done to improve this?
  • Any additional relevant information, e.g. any unforeseen changes made to the event waste plan

Contact details

Council officers are here to help you with this plan. Please email waste@huttcity.govt.nz to get in touch with a Council Waste Minimisation Advisor.