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Explanatory note
General policy statement
This Bill seeks to put in place provisions and institutions which will enable and require New Zealand businesses, public organisations and households to dramatically decrease their disposal of waste. This will have not only environmental benefits but also social, cultural and economic ones.
It sets in place:
- targets for the reduction in the amount of waste disposed of in landfills, cleanfills and incinerators along with dates for achievement of these targets;
- prohibitions on the disposal of certain classes of material;
- a levy on residual waste;
- requirements for extended producer responsibility programmes and organisational waste minimisation plans; and
- a requirement for public procurement policies to spur the development of markets for products and services which result in waste reduction.
The Bill establishes a centralised agency, the Waste Minimisation Authority, similar in purpose to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, dedicated to facilitating the move to a minimal waste society. This would have a co-ordinating educational and promotional role as well as being tasked with providing advice to the Minister. It would also be responsible for approving and monitoring extended producer responsibility programmes which form a key component of the Bill.
The Bill also more clearly specifies the roles of territorial authorities with respect to waste minimisation and management. These would constitute, either individually or jointly with other territorial authorities, Waste Control Authorities. The Waste Control Authorities would adopt and implement waste minimisation and management plans and be responsible for ensuring that all parts of society, including the waste minimisation and disposal sectors, implement measures that will result in greatly decreased waste disposal. The Waste Control Authorities would have a major role in facilitating the move to a minimal waste society at the local level but are also empowered to enforce requirements of this Bill through bylaw making and licensing provisions.
Prohibitions are imposed on the disposal of those materials for which there currently exists systems for diverting them from waste disposal facilities and using them more productively. Provision is made for addition of more materials to the list of those which must not be burned or buried.
The Bill creates a levy on waste which is sent for disposal. This is intended to both send an economic signal to deter wasteful behaviour and also to provide funding for the implementation of the measures contained within this Bill by businesses, organisations, households and the institutions the Bill creates.
The Bill provides for extended producer responsibility programmes to be required for certain products. These require the producer of the product to take responsibility for the product throughout its lifecycle which will encourage producers to design products with the environment in mind. Producers may jointly organise systems to collect and reutilise the products or otherwise appropriately process the materials of which they are made. Failure to develop, adopt and implement a required extended producer responsibility programme will result in one being imposed upon the producer.
All organisations are required to adopt and implement plans that will lead to decreases in the amount of waste they produce. This requirement is phased in over a 10-year period, starting with the largest organisations and ending with the smallest. These organisational waste minimisation plans would have to be consistent with the Waste Control Authority's waste minimisation and management plan.
The Bill will require all public organisations to implement policies which give priority to purchasing products and services which either decrease the generation of waste or which provide markets for recycled materials. Furthermore, public organisations must report on their resource use, waste generation and what happens to the waste they produce each year.
