Disaster waste management: New Zealand experiences and future planning

Abstract

In April 2010, I was awarded an EQC grant to carry out a hypothetical case study on the likely waste management challenges facing Wellington following a large scale earthquake as part of my PhD research on Disaster Waste Management. As a result of the Christchurch earthquakes and my involvement in the response effort I abandoned plans to carry out the Wellington case study.

As an alternative use of the EQC grant, I proposed that I undertake some field work in the North Island. The field work would not just inform my PhD research but would also be used in the development of some national disaster waste management guidelines which I have been engaged (by Environment Canterbury/Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management) to write. Specifically the aims of the field work were:

• To learn from communities that had dealt with small scale disasters;
• To disseminate the findings of my research and to encourage councils/CDEM groups to plan for management of disaster waste; and
• To ensure the proposed guidelines are transferable to different scale and types of events.

The two week field trip was carried out between 1-16 March 2012. I targeted local regions which had recently (within the last 20 years) dealt with waste producing civil defence emergencies. The persons interviewed were a mix of contractors and regional and local council staff involved in both waste management and emergency management. In total 22 persons were met with in 8 regions.