Figure 1: Preferred option for product stewardship policy

Text description of figure:

The figure shows a flowchart for the implementation of product stewardship policy through industry product stewardship schemes. Industry can, as now, develop their own schemes, and the Ministry for the Environment encourages this. For priority wastes, the Ministry seeks to will work with industry to establish an industry product stewardship scheme. This is done through the negotiation of a Product stewardship agreement with the industry. The agreement sets out the targets and the main features of the scheme. Regulation for free-riders is applied if required. Many schemes will involve the creation of a Product Stewardship Organisation to implement parts of the agreement and undertake action on behalf of the parties to the agreement.

If, for priority wastes, no agreement for a scheme can reached between government and the industry the government to manage the waste issue then regulation maybe considered. There must be clear benefits before regulations are applied. These regulation is applied to manage the waste then these will be reviewed periodically.