New Zealand to phase out more single-use plastics

‘Rethinking Plastics’ Report released today

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The Government will phase out more single-use plastics following the success of its single-use plastic bag ban earlier this year and the release today of a pivotal report for dealing with waste.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern welcomed the release of ‘Rethinking Plastics in Aotearoa New Zealand Report,’ by her Chief Science Advisor Professor Juliet Gerrard.

“Our ban on plastic bags has already made a difference as we confront our enormous long-term challenge to tackle plastic waste,” she said.

Sharing concerns

“Many New Zealanders, including many children, write to me about plastic, concerned with its proliferation over the past decade and the mounting waste ending up in our oceans. I share this concern for our natural environment – one that sustains our tourism, trade and our national identity,” she said.

The Next Steps

The next steps would include the following: (1) Setting goals to shift away from low-value and hard-to-recycle plastic (2) The first target will be to move away from single-use packaging and beverage containers made of hard-to-recycle PVC and polystyrene. Examples include polystyrene meat trays, cups and takeaway food containers (3) Work towards ensuring that these are made of high-value alternatives like PET, HDPE and polypropylene, which can be recycled and reprocessed (4) Stimulate innovation and development of solutions to the soft plastic problem (5) Accelerate work with local government and industry on better and more consistent kerbside collection of recyclables

(6) Work with industry, continue work to develop a labelling scheme for packaging, including plastic packaging.

Smart Innovations

Ms Ardern said that we can ensure that New Zealand’s future is not full of throw-aways but of smart innovations and practical steps to reduce, reuse and recycle.

Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage said that the Report reaffirms and extends the Government’s ambitious plan to reduce waste, which includes (a) A container return scheme for drink bottles and cans (b) Regulated product stewardship schemes for tough waste issues such as e-waste, tyres and batteries (c) A National Resource Recovery work programme in response to China and other countries’ bans on importing waste and recyclables (d) Improving waste data (e) Expanding and improving the landfill levy to help fund more ways to recover, re-use and reprocess materials and (f) A $40 million Provincial Growth Fund investment to turn plastic waste into useful material for businesses and consumers.

Preventing plastic waste

“New Zealanders often tell me how concerned they are about the amount of plastics ending up in our oceans and harming fish, marine mammals, seabirds, and turtles. A lot of this plastic waste doesn’t need to be created in the first place,” she said.

“Our goal must be to make Aotearoa an economy where plastic rarely becomes waste or pollution. As Prof Gerrard says there is no silver bullet and we need a systems change. The recommendations in this report will help us to achieve this. I aim to have the full Government response to the Rethinking Plastics report confirmed within six months,” Ms Sage said.

Massive pollution

Since the 1950s, 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been produced globally and nearly 80% of that has gone to the dump or been discarded in the environment. Some 36% of plastic produced today is single-use packaging.

Some Key recommendations

Implement a National Plastics Action Plan

An overarching recommendation to guide Aotearoa New Zealand’s transition to a circular economy for plastics.

Improve plastics data collection

A series of recommendations to fill known knowledge gaps and develop measures to coordinate and standardise data collection on plastics to guide decision-making.

Embed rethinking plastics in the government agenda

A series of recommendations that address opportunities for government to demonstrate best practice, ensure efforts to mitigate issues related to plastics are enduring, and collaborate internationally on these issues.

Create and enable consistency in design, use and disposal

A series of recommendations to keep plastics in circulation through improved recycling systems and sector-specific approaches to rethinking plastics.

Innovate and amplify

A series of recommendations related to research and innovation for plastics.

Mitigate environmental and health impacts of plastics

A series of recommendations to fill knowledge gaps and support ongoing research on the impacts of plastics.

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