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Hazardous waste policy framework: Underlying principles

Principle 1: Consistency with the goals, objectives and policies of the New Zealand Waste Strategy

The New Zealand Waste Strategy provides the strategic direction to reduce and better manage waste in New Zealand. It includes goals, objectives and general policies to turn the strategy into action. The strategy is also a source of reference for developing specific policies, including those for hazardous wastes.

Principle 2: Consistency with the management of hazardous substances under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act 1996

The HSNO Act provides a system to manage hazardous substances, including waste hazardous substances. While the HSNO Act does not control all hazardous wastes it makes sense to treat wastes with similar characteristics in the same way. This ensures that at least hazardous wastes that are definable as hazardous substances are covered by the Act, and provides for opportunities to broaden the scope of application of the HSNO Act to exercise control over other hazardous wastes, where it is appropriate and efficient to do so.

For instance the group standards, the new approval mechanism in the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (Approvals and Enforcement) Amendment Act 2005, will allow the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) to apply its expertise with hazardous substances to the control and management of hazardous wastes which meet the HSNO thresholds. A number of other provisions in the Amendment Act, such as those enabling regional councils to act as HSNO enforcement agencies, will improve integration with other legislation, in particular, the Resource Management Act (RMA).

Principle 3: Step-by-step implementation of policy elements and the progressive strengthening of policy in response to the level of risk

The policy framework consists of several elements. While work on these is an ongoing process, we will have to prioritise the implementation of some elements over others. Examples of current priorities are the implementation of waste tracking systems and the development of group standards.

The overall policy framework can be expected to evolve and strengthen beyond June 2006.

Principle 4: Adopting a risk management approach to policy

With our policy we aim to reduce the amount of wastes and manage current hazardous wastes cost-effectively at an acceptable level of risk, rather than removing all risk.

 

Last updated: 17 September 2007