Auckland council spends big on rubbish ads

The Auckland council has spent over $5 million in the last three years in advertising and education campaigns telling residents what to do with their rubbish. Most of the spending ($3.3m) came from the waste levy – a tax on rubbish sent to landfill collected by the government, which then gives half of it back to councils to fund waste minimisation initiatives. The rest ($1.5m) was funded through rates. Figures the council provided to BusinessDesk show spending on waste and recycling campaigns in the 2023 financial year ($1.9m) w...