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The Waste Minimisation Act 2008

The Waste Minimisation Act 2008 encourages a reduction in the amount of waste we generate and dispose of in New Zealand and aims to lessen the environmental harm of waste.

This Act also aims to benefit our economy by encouraging better use of materials throughout the product life cycle, promoting domestic reprocessing of recovered materials and providing more employment.

In a nutshell, the Act:

puts a levy on all waste disposed of in landfills to generate funding to help local government, communities and businesses reduce the amount of waste
helps and, when necessary makes, producers, brand owners, importers, retailers, consumers and other parties take responsibility for the environmental effects of their products from ‘cradle-to-grave’ through product stewardship schemes
allows for regulations to be made making it mandatory for certain groups (for example, landfill operators) to report on waste to improve information on waste minimisation
clarifies the roles and responsibilities of territorial authorities with respect to waste minimisation
introduces a new Board to give independent advice to the Minister for the Environment on waste minimisation issues.

Consultation Waste Minimisation Act implementation – March-May 2009

The Ministry for the Environment has released the Waste Minimisation in New Zealand discussion paper for public consultation.

Submissions on the paper will be accepted until 5pm on Friday15 May 2009.

For more information on the paper, consultation workshops and how to submit your feedback, visit our consultation web page.

Full text of the Waste Minimisation Act 2008

Waste Minimisation Act 2008 (PDF)

Links to other Ministry resources

Last updated: 22 March 2009