More importantly, government, industry and the public are all aligned on the fact we need to lift our game: New Zealand produces too much waste. It’s at odds with the clean, green image we take pride in as a nation. All of this has translated into a lot more urgency on the policy front. The Government has embarked on a historic reset of the sector, aimed at radically reducing the amount of waste we generate and increasing the volumes we recycle, reuse and recover.
Among the key initiatives, the national waste disposal levy has been expanded and increased, and this will lead to a dramatic boost in the funds it generates each year – from $36 million a couple of years ago to an anticipated $280m-plus by 2024/2025.
This makes for a powerful war chest to drive waste minimisation and resource recovery projects, and it is the key to unlocking the potential of our sector.
To understand waste and recycling, and the challenges we face as a sector, there’s one thing people need to get their heads around: it can cost our sector more to recycle and transport waste items than we get paid by the processors who receive them from us.
So why do we do this? Because it’s the right thing to do, New Zealand must reduce its carbon footprint. If recycling and resource recovery are done effectively, it means fewer raw materials need to be extracted and emissions can be reduced.
This fundamental economic constraint can only be overcome with strong central and local government involvement, working with the private sector, and a united NZ Inc approach. What’s needed now is an investment in infrastructure that the private sector cannot provide on its own, because the scale is too great and/or the economics too challenging.
We need the right infrastructure in the right place that can enhance New Zealand’s recycling and recovery options for plastic, glass, metal, cardboard, paper, organics, wood and other recyclables, thereby enhancing the value of these items.
To bridge this gap, the trick for the Government will be to ensure that investment is made in a way that supports viable markets and avoids replicating private-sector commercial activity.
New Zealanders are right to expect a high degree of accountability and transparency around how this public money is spent.
Alongside infrastructure, government investment must go towards making it easier for households and businesses to recycle. This means swiftly implementing plans for standardised kerbside collection nationwide. What goes into the recycling bin must be the same whether you’re in Papamoa or Porirua. It needs to be supported by a sustained education campaign on public recycling and a simple labelling system to clean up greenwashing.
All of this will lead to much-improved recycling and recovery rates, and much-improved working conditions for frontline staff in our collection and recycling facilities.
This is essential if we are to attract more workers into our sector and start to address chronic staffing shortages in our essential industry.
Our message to the Government is simple: we will work with you to make this succeed.
· Chris Aughton is CEO of EnviroNZ, and a spokesman for the Waste Management Industry Forum, an industry organisation representing private-sector collectors and recyclers of waste, and operators of municipal landfills. The group’s members are responsible for around 85 per cent of the waste and recycling flow in New Zealand.
