1 Background
1.1 Purpose of this report
The New Zealand Waste Strategy (Ministry for the Environment, 2002d) is a comprehensive policy framework to reduce waste and improve its management in New Zealand. Launched in 2002, the Strategy sets a long-term strategic direction for New Zealand waste policy. It is designed to gradually progress from managing waste disposal to a greater focus on waste prevention and resource efficiency.
The Strategy contains a number of principles, action plans and national targets for managing priority wastes. The targets are intended to provide a basis for action and a measuring stick against which progress towards the wider Strategy principles can be charted.
The Strategy acknowledges the importance of monitoring and evaluating progress towards the targets, both in order to check the effectiveness of the Strategy and to identify any required changes to targets. The Ministry for the Environment, in conjunction with local government, was delegated the role of monitoring and reporting on progress against Strategy targets.
A preliminary review of progress against Strategy targets was conducted in 2003, with the findings published in early 2004. Because of limited information available at that time, a further review of progress against Strategy targets was recommended for 2006. This report summarises the findings of the 2006 review of progress against targets in the New Zealand Waste Strategy.
1.2 Report structure
This report contains five sections. Section 1 provides background on the New Zealand Waste Strategy and the 2003 review of progress against Strategy targets. It also discusses the methods used for the 2006 review.
Section 2 provides an overview of progress in implementing the New Zealand Waste Strategy. It also highlights key changes in the waste landscape in New Zealand since the Strategy was launched, including information on landfill management, recovered materials, composting and product stewardship. This section also discusses the roles played by central government, local government and industry in waste management, waste minimisation and resource efficiency.
Section 3 reviews progress against each of the Strategy targets. Initiatives underway for each priority waste stream are briefly summarised, followed by a more detailed discussion on progress towards the relevant target or targets.
The final two sections present the conclusions of the report and recommendations for further work.
1.3 The New Zealand Waste Strategy
The New Zealand Waste Strategy is based on the principle of sustainability in resource use, which includes progress towards the concept of zero waste. Its vision, goals and targets all express central and local government commitment to minimise waste and to manage it better.
The New Zealand Waste Strategy was developed in partnership with Local Government New Zealand, reflecting the crucial role that local government plays in providing waste services in this country. Territorial authorities hold the primary responsibility for implementing waste policies in their communities and are required to develop waste management plans under the Local Government Act 2002. Throughout the country, territorial authorities undertake a range of important local waste management and minimisation activities, including the collection of household waste, support for cleaner production, education programmes, kerbside recycling systems, user-pays charging policies, the identification and management of contaminated sites, and implementing improved landfill management standards.
Industry and business have an important part to play in waste reduction given their role as designers, manufacturers and distributors of products and services that generate waste. Private sector interests are key providers of many waste industry services, both directly to other businesses and under contract to territorial authorities. Community groups and non-governmental organisations also have a keen interest in many waste matters.
In recognition of this wider interest in waste, a number of groups were invited to help in the development of the Strategy. A Waste Minimisation and Management Working Group, a multi-sector body, was set up to advise on the Strategy’s content and direction. The advice of the Group was then released for public submission.
Both the Working Group and public submissions called for clear national leadership in waste management and minimisation. The crucial role that regional and local government plays in addressing New Zealand’s waste needs was also recognised in the submission process, and there was widespread agreement that all New Zealanders must take responsibility for waste if the aims and objectives of the Strategy are to be achieved.
The Strategy was subsequently written to reflect this consensus. Its vision, goals and targets all express the commitment by central and local government to minimise waste and manage it better, and to help communities, householders and businesses play their part in this.
To achieve this, the Strategy seeks to focus action in five core policy areas:
-
sound legislation
-
high environmental standards
-
efficient pricing
-
adequate and accessible information
-
the efficient use of materials.
The 30 national-level targets set out in the Strategy were selected for their importance in driving behaviour change to achieve these core policy outcomes. Importantly, the Strategy recognises that both policy and targets will need to develop and evolve over time in order to remain relevant to the changing waste landscape in New Zealand.
1.4 Targets in the Strategy
The New Zealand Waste Strategy targets were initially developed by the Waste Minimisation and Management Working Group. The targets focus on priority actions and waste streams identified in the Strategy:
-
waste minimisation
-
organic waste
-
special waste
-
construction and demolition waste
-
hazardous waste and contaminated sites
-
organochlorines
-
trade waste and waste disposal.
While the targets were being developed it was recognised that information on waste flows and volumes used to set the targets was incomplete. For that reason, the New Zealand Waste Strategy states that the targets should be considered “goal statements rather than mandatory requirements”.
The Strategy specifically provides for regular reviews of the targets. The expectation at the time was that improved information would either confirm the targets or inform their revision.
There was also an expectation that local government would take the targets into account and progressively develop a set of their own localised targets to drive community action in waste management and minimisation. In particular, local government can set such localised targets through their waste management plans. A number of councils have adopted the Strategy targets as their localised targets through this mechanism.
1.5 Findings of the 2003 Review of Targets
A preliminary review of the Strategy targets was undertaken in 2003. The resulting report, Review of Targets in the New Zealand Waste Strategy (Ministry for the Environment, 2004d), found that implementation of the Strategy was progressing positively. A key conclusion was that while some targets in the Strategy were likely to be readily achieved, the Strategy was still in the early stages of implementation and so progress towards many targets was difficult to assess. It was therefore recommended that a further review of targets be considered in 2006.
The review did, however, identify several actions that would help improve the interpretation and implementation of the targets and allow future progress against targets to be better measured. The main findings of the 2003 review are summarised in the table below.
Table 1: Summary of findings from the 2003 Review of Strategy Targets
|
Targets |
The targets provide a useful focus for action by central and local government as well as explicit objectives against which progress can be measured. Good progress is being made by territorial authorities in setting local and regional targets and adopting policies aimed at meeting these targets. Local waste management policies and plans often adopt the principles of the Strategy. Although some targets should be readily achieved, others will be difficult and perhaps even impossible for territorial authorities to achieve. No change should be made to the targets in the Strategy at this time. If changes are to be made to Strategy targets, it is unclear what alternative targets would be set. Additional experience and better information will help clarify future target setting. More information about targets should be provided by central government to clarify what is meant by the targets and to remove ambiguity about responsibility for action for specific targets. |
|---|---|
|
Control of waste stream(s) |
The limited ability of territorial authorities to exercise control over some waste streams and the increasing role of the private sector in providing waste services present difficulties for territorial authorities in setting targets and measuring progress. Good information about changes to waste streams is increasingly dependent on the private sector’s willingness to provide territorial authorities with information that may be commercially sensitive. |
|
Extended producer responsibility (product stewardship) |
The achievement of two targets (1.3 and 3.1) is dependent on positive actions by the private sector to develop waste minimisation and extended producer responsibility programmes. Although some extended producer responsibility schemes have been established by the private sector, their success is often limited by the lack of regulatory backup that might otherwise ensure a greater degree of participation. |
|
Monitoring system |
An effective and cost-efficient monitoring and reporting system is essential for measuring progress in implementing the Strategy and achieving the targets. |
|
Further review |
A further review of progress against targets should be undertaken in 2006. |
1.6 Method for the 2006 review of targets
In line with the recommendations of the 2003 review, a second review of progress against Strategy targets was undertaken in 2006. The Ministry for the Environment consulted with Local Government New Zealand to carry out the review.
The 2006 review used various sources of data to assess progress, including data collected from:
a survey of territorial authorities and regional councils, which was followed up by direct telephone contact (71 out of 73 territorial authorities responded and all regional councils and unitary authorities provided information)
the National Landfill Census (1995, 1998 and preliminary results from the 2006 census) and the National Landfill Review and Audit (2002), which provided information on annual disposal quantities, design and operational practices at each landfill, although the 2006 census had a more limited scope than earlier censuses
the 2004 Solid Waste Analysis Protocol (SWAP) baseline data, supplemented by a commissioned review of a range of SWAP studies.
Additional information drawn from national databases was also used in the review, including:
WINFO – a database containing information on the public wastewater treatment infrastructure in New Zealand (the database was established jointly by the New Zealand Water and Waste Association and the Ministry for the Environment, and data population of the database began in June 2006)
WasteTRACK – a national hazardous waste-tracking system implemented by the Ministry for the Environment
Tyretrack – a nationwide tracking system for used tyres established by the Motor Trades Association and the Ministry for the Environment.
Information was also provided by the private sector through personal contacts and industry working groups. A full list of published sources of data is provided in the References section of this report.
1.7 Limitations of the data
The 2003 review of Strategy targets proposed a monitoring and evaluation system for waste that would:
consistently measure and report on waste data
collect data only when required for assessing progress towards meeting targets
be as simple as possible.
The methodology used in the 2006 review meets these criteria. Although the data collected has not been independently verified or validated, every attempt has been made, through direct contact with territorial authorities and industry groups, to ensure that the data has been correctly interpreted.
Waste composition data is based on physically sorting or visually estimating the proportion of various components in a small sample of the total waste stream. The SWAP methodology ensures that the results have some statistical validity. However, it should be remembered that the results are indicative rather than definitive, particularly for smaller components of the waste stream. The specification for the SWAP baseline programme was to measure the three major components of the waste stream (organic waste, paper, plastics) to an accuracy of plus or minus 20 per cent. The accuracy for other waste streams is likely to be much lower.
The 2003 review also recommended that the proposed monitoring and evaluation system include a national survey of cleanfills.1 At the time, it was anticipated that a pilot data collection exercise conducted in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions could be extended to develop a nationally consistent methodology for estimating the amount and composition of material disposed of at cleanfills. However, because many cleanfills are temporary and permitted under various district and regional plans, and all are privately owned, the pilot exercise did not prove as useful in this respect as first hoped. As a result, no national survey has been undertaken. All cleanfill information used in this report is therefore based on data provided by territorial authorities, or as estimated in the report Waste Composition and Construction Waste Data (Waste Not Consulting, 2006).
Construction and demolition waste diversion rates are derived from a mix of information provided by industry and other sources.
1Refer to section 2 for a definition of and more information on cleanfills.
