4 Conclusions
The present review confirms that the principles of the New Zealand Waste Strategy remain relevant in guiding action to improve waste management, waste minimisation and resource efficiency in New Zealand.
The review found that all four sectors involved in implementing the Strategy (central government, local government, the waste sector and business) use the Strategy as a focus for waste management and minimisation activities. Many of the specific waste initiatives and actions underway since 2002 have a wider objective than achieving the targets within the Strategy, and reflect efforts to achieve the Strategy’s overall goals and principles.
4.1 Progress against Strategy targets
The 2006 review of progress against Strategy targets confirms the 2003 review findings that much of the groundwork for achieving the Strategy’s wider goals and objectives for waste management, waste minimisation and resource efficiency has been laid, but that progress against the Strategy targets has been variable.
Ten of the 30 targets have been achieved, achieved ahead of time, or have had significant progress made towards achieving them. Eight targets have a deadline to be achieved in the future, so progress against them is considered in this report in general terms only.
Areas of particular achievement against the targets include:
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good progress by local government in improving community access to recycling and green waste diversion schemes within their communities
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increased central government engagement with businesses to achieve waste outcomes (eg, through the New Zealand Packaging Accord and other voluntary product stewardship schemes)
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good progress by central government in developing guidelines to improve the management of landfill sites and hazardous wastes, and by the waste sector and councils in implementing these.
Good progress was also made in:
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council action to put in place recycling systems within council-owned buildings
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council reporting on their waste minimisation and management activities.
However, the report also highlights areas where progress against the targets has been limited. Three targets have not been achieved and four targets were unable to be achieved, while progress against five targets was unable to be measured.
Progress was especially limited for:
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targets relating to activities for which councils have been assigned responsibility under the Waste Strategy, but where delivery of the activity is undertaken by another party (eg, commercial organic diversion, construction and demolition waste and cleanfills)
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targets relating to contaminated sites, although it should be noted that an increasing number of regional councils have started the process of identifying and screening potentially contaminated sites, particularly in terms of ensuring high-risk sites are identified and appropriately managed.
4.2 Progress in priority areas
In terms of evaluating progress against the New Zealand Waste Strategy targets, several priority waste areas warrant further discussion.
4.2.1 Waste minimisation
Comprehensive waste minimisation and management initiatives are complex undertakings and take time. In addition, public attitudes about the importance of waste reduction have taken time to evolve. Even so, territorial authorities and the waste industry have steadily implemented actions set out in the Strategy. As a result, waste infrastructure and practices have improved around the country. However, more can still be done.
In particular, further effort is required to maintain and increase momentum in waste minimisation initiatives by local government through the development of and support for local programmes. Central government could provide support through the further development of best-practice guidelines and by reviewing underlying policy and legislation to ensure that any barriers to action are removed. In addition, increased effort to raise public awareness of both the importance of waste minimisation and simple actions people can take to reduce their waste could be warranted in order to drive greater community and householder action.
The Government is currently reviewing the legislative and policy framework for waste minimisation. This will provide greater clarity on the strategic direction for waste minimisation and support further progress in reducing waste at the national and local level.
4.2.2 Business
Many businesses have realised the economic as well as environmental benefits of implementing waste minimisation plans. Drivers for this include cost reductions from using resources more efficiently and opportunities to meet consumer demand for sustainable products and services. The increased leadership in waste minimisation from the business community shows a growing level of awareness of and commitment to environmental action in this sector than in the past.
Government can promote greater effort by the private sector in waste minimisation by highlighting best practice in business and raising the awareness of the tools available to achieve this. In order to achieve greater levels of resource recovery in the business sector, applying economic and regulatory tools may provide a way forward. A continued focus on sustainable purchasing by central government is also important in this respect. Given central government’s significant purchasing power, government leadership in this area supports businesses that adhere to sustainable best practice, including in respect to waste management and minimisation, and sends a strong market signal to suppliers and producers.
The private sector also has a key role to play in minimising embedded and life cycle waste generation through the up-front design of products. This is a new area of work which we can expect to see given greater attention in future.
Lastly, central and local government can build momentum in their present positive engagement with business. As part of this, the development of product stewardship schemes to address special wastes is a priority. The current product stewardship schemes, while making good progress, do not effectively address non-participation. Where voluntary membership does not have the desired effect, it is worth investigating a more regulated approach. This will also help address the concern of some scheme participants that non-participants gain cost advantages in the marketplace by continuing with wasteful practices.
4.2.3 Waste sector
The waste and recycling industry has grown considerably since 2002 and many services are now operated by private sector interests. New markets are opening for materials previously disposed of to landfill, and this is also driving commercial activity.
Over the years, central government has developed a number of best-practice guidelines and standards to provide leadership in waste management and minimisation. These have been widely adopted by the waste industry, but further guidance is required to facilitate improvements in waste minimisation and management at a local and regional level.
4.2.4 Special wastes
As mentioned above, most waste reduction for special wastes occurs through product stewardship schemes. Industry has made good progress in implementing such schemes for packaging (paint, paper, plastic, glass, steel and aluminium) and “special wastes” such as waste oil, waste electronic and electrical equipment, farm plastics and tyres. Continued effort in this area is essential if these wastes are to be more comprehensively diverted from landfill.
4.2.5 Organics
Ongoing work in this field has ensured that some progress is being made to manage and minimise organic wastes effectively. Green waste, in particular, has received much attention around the country, resulting in good diversion rates. Although an estimated 35 per cent of green waste is diverted from landfills, there is the opportunity to increase this amount through increased funding for waste diversion management programmes, and the promotion of best practice in the industry. More can be done, too, to divert from landfill other organic wastes such as food waste and commercial organic waste.
There are still difficulties monitoring organic waste flows. The figures used in this report are estimates only, given limited data availability, and a process needs to be put in place to gather more accurate data in order to provide better nationwide consistency. There is still a need to develop and improve markets for reprocessed organic wastes, especially in the biosolids area.
4.2.6 Construction and demolition
Although the amount of construction and demolition waste going to landfill can be estimated, the amount going to cleanfill is relatively unknown. Evidence from the limited data available suggests that significantly more construction and demolition waste goes to cleanfill than landfill. Likewise, the amount of construction and demolition material diverted from disposal to cleanfill is unknown. Improved monitoring and reporting of data on wastes disposed of to cleanfills would help to develop policies and programmes to increase diversion rates for construction and demolition waste.
Further efforts are also needed to identify opportunities for increased reprocessing and re-use of construction and demolition waste. Ideally, opportunities for reprocessing and re-use should be investigated alongside increased assistance to develop markets for the resulting reprocessed materials. The suite of guidelines developed by the Resource Efficiency in Building and Related Industries (REBRI), provide an excellent starting point to reduce volumes of construction and demolition waste, but more can be done to improve progress in this area.
4.2.7 Hazardous wastes / contaminated sites
The existing policy framework for hazardous wastes ensures the safe management of these wastes, but a greater focus is needed on diverting hazardous wastes from the waste stream. Over time, use of the hazardous waste tracking system will enable a more accurate picture to be built of national hazardous waste flows (both in terms of volume and type), and will help identify opportunities for further diversion of hazardous wastes.
A number of regional councils have begun to identify and screen potentially contaminated sites, but progress has been slow and varies around the country. More work is needed to ensure that all sites on the Hazardous Activities and Industries List can be “rapid screened” and appropriately managed, as per recommended best practice. The process of remediation of contaminated sites is in its early stages, but has been aided by the establishment of the Contaminated Sites Remediation Fund.
4.2.8 Waste data
Progress has been made in the collation and reporting of nationwide data on waste to landfill. However, an improvement in monitoring and reporting of local waste volumes, waste composition and diverted wastes for beneficial use will greatly assist the development of targeted waste programmes. Although some territorial authorities provide excellent data on their waste and recycling activities, others have incomplete data sets, which make it difficult to build a comprehensive national picture of waste flows of various types around New Zealand. These difficulties are compounded by the commercial sensitivity of much of the data held by private sector waste operators. As a result, detailed data on specific waste streams, such as organic wastes and construction and demolition waste, remains very difficult to access.
In addition, very few standard waste reporting methodologies are in place, although the Solid Waste Analysis Protocol has laid some groundwork for this. Where standard methodologies do exist, there are difficulties in applying these consistently.
Current data may be unable to adequately inform policy for some waste types. For example, although it is thought that the amount of waste disposed of to the country’s estimated 300 cleanfills is similar to that disposed of to landfill, no firm data is available. The lack of comprehensive data provides a poor basis on which to formulate new policy or engage the waste sector on possible solutions.
