Research:
Waste
Every year, New Zealand industries and households discard over 3 million tonnes of construction and demolition debris to landfills. Averaged across the population, this represents about one tonne per person. In addition, more than 1 million tonnes of plant matter and food scraps are sent to landfills, representing about 320 kilograms of organic matter for each one of us. This is accompanied by 600,000 tonnes of paper and cardboard (about 170 kg/person) and 220,000 tonnes of plastic (about 60 kg/person). These are the main items in our solid waste pile, but we also discard many other things in the course of a year, including, for example, 300 million steel cans (about 80 per person) and 30 million litres of used oil (about 8 litres each).
Large though these figures are, they pale beside the approximately 500 billion litres of sewage that flow into our 258 public wastewater treatment plants each year. Additional, unmeasured, quantities of stormwater and pasture run-off sweep tonnes of litter and animal waste from land into waterways. Furthermore, our chimneys and vehicle exhausts emit unmeasured tonnes of smoke and particulate matter into the air. In short, each of us discards many times our own body weight of waste each year, often with environmental consequences. Small amounts of waste are easily absorbed by the environment, but in larger amounts some wastes can be harmful. In the case of some toxic substances, even very small amounts can harm humans or other species.
The pressures which waste puts on the environment vary according to the particular waste stream. Our airborne waste stream consists of gases and small particles which are emitted by motor vehicles, livestock, fires, power stations and industrial processes. These float into the atmosphere sometimes contaminating the ambient air we breathe. In recent decades, airborne wastes have entered the upper atmosphere, altering the ozone layer and the 'greenhouse layer' several kilometres above us. Airborne contaminants are discussed in detail in Chapters 5 and 6 of this report.
http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/environmental-reporting/state-new-zealand%E2%80%99s-environment-1997-chapter-three-production-3
Pollution: Waterways
The main source of water pollution is from animal excrement. One individual cow produces 15 times more effluent than a human. This means that New Zealand's 6.7 million dairy cows (2014 figure) produce the equivalent amount of manure as do 100 million people!
Water pollution from cattle waste is at such levels that some of our major waterways are under threat. Figures released in 2013 by the Ministry for the Environment show that 60 per cent of monitored New Zealand waterways were not fit to swim in, let alone had drinkable water. A high prevalence of dairy farms correlated with the worst water standards: Canterbury had nine waterways graded “very poor”, while Manawatu-Whanganui, Southland and Taranaki each had seven.
https://www.safe.org.nz/dirty-dairy
What have we been doing to minimise and manage waste in New Zealand?
Several steps have been taken to minimise and manage waste in New Zealand, including:
improving on-the-ground management of landfills
developing a national strategy to focus our efforts
developing more sustainable products and production systems.
Managing the environmental effects of waste disposal
Under the Resource Management Act 1991, regional councils regulate the environmental effects of waste disposal sites by granting and monitoring resource consents. Improvements in environmental management have resulted from more stringent regulatory requirements, and the closure of small poorly managed sites.
The number of landfills decreased from 327 in 1995 (MfE, 2003), to 60 in 2006 (MfE, 2007a).
More stringent regulatory requirements have included leachate collection, controls on what is disposed of in the landfill and systems for the management of landfill gas. The proportion of landfills with liners designed to prevent groundwater contamination rose from 4 per cent in 1998, to 52 per cent in 2006, and the proportion of landfills with leachate collection systems rose from 35 per cent in 1998 to 77 per cent in 2006 (MfE, 2007a).
Decomposing organic waste in landfills generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The Resource Management (National Environmental Standards Relating to Certain Air Pollutants, Dioxins, and Other Toxics) Regulations 2004 (the air quality national environmental standard) required that by October 2007 at the latest, all operating landfills with a capacity of 1 million tonnes or more would collect and manage landfill gas. In 2006, 23 per cent of landfills were collecting landfill gas for beneficial use, compared with 5 per cent in 1998 (MfE, 2007a). However, a 2008 investigation of compliance with the landfill gas standard showed there may be some applicable landfills which still do not fully comply with the requirement to collect landfill gas.
Burning wastes releases hazardous and toxic substances into the air. The air quality national environmental standard prohibits open burning of toxic materials, such as tyres, bitumen and waste oil, and fires at landfills. A Ministry for the Environment review of compliance with the national environmental standard in 2008 showed only two instances where the prohibition on fires at landfills was contravened. There was good compliance with the prohibition on burning bitumen and open burning of waste oil. However, there was poor compliance with the prohibition on open burning of tyres. There is also some evidence to suggest there has been an increase in the low temperature burning of waste oil.
The New Zealand Waste Strategy: Towards zero waste and a sustainable New Zealand
New Zealand Waste Strategy: Towards zero waste and a sustainable New Zealand (MfE, 2002) was developed through a partnership between central and local government. The Strategy sets Government policy to minimise waste.
The Strategy covers solid, liquid and gaseous wastes. It deals with the life cycle of waste, from generation to disposal. The Strategy promotes resource efficiency at every stage of production and consumption, and focuses on waste prevention rather than on waste disposal. In particular, it supports the ‘waste hierarchy’ – reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery, treatment and disposal.
The Strategy has a vision of ‘towards zero waste and a sustainable New Zealand’. It provides principles for guiding policy and priority setting, and includes an action plan for reducing and managing waste. The three core goals are to:
lower the costs and risks of waste to society
reduce the environmental damage from the generation and disposal of waste
increase economic benefit by using material more efficiently.
The Strategy provides four criteria to focus our efforts:
volume and harm – deal with wastes that pose the biggest environmental and social risks because of their high toxicity or large volumes
achievability – focus on what we can realistically achieve
cost effectiveness – take measures that give the best value for money
public concern – make sure plans are in step with community views.
A key component of the Strategy has been its 30 targets. The Strategy anticipated that the targets would focus action in priority areas, to be reviewed as information became available and progress was made.
A sound legislative basis for waste minimisation and management in New Zealand is one of the five core principles of the Strategy, and the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 is part of this legislative framework.
Other initiatives
The Ministry for the Environment has been working with industry to help develop more sustainable products and production systems. One example of this is the ‘Greening the Screen’ (MfE, 2005) initiative, a practical toolkit developed by the Ministry, Landcare Research, South Pacific Pictures, Waitakere City Council and the Screen Development and Production Council, aimed at improving sustainability in the film and television industry.
Measuring progress in waste minimisation
Progress against the original 30 targets in the Strategy was reviewed in 2006 (MfE, 2007a). The review showed that although progress has been made on meeting the Strategy’s objectives, more work needs to be done to prevent waste generation. The review found a need for improvements in waste monitoring and reporting. Lack of funding for waste minimisation was sometimes cited as a barrier to progress, particularly for councils with a small rating base and large numbers of tourists.
The 2007 OECD environmental performance review (OECD, 2007) drew similar conclusions about New Zealand’s approach to waste management. It states, “Publication in 2002 of the national Waste Strategy gave needed focus and clarity, as well as national objectives and targets, to a waste management framework otherwise fragmented in its legislation and institutions”.
The OECD review also noted that recycling activities in New Zealand were “economically vulnerable” and that there was a lack of aggregated waste management information at regional or national levels, which hampered strategic planning. The OECD review specifically recommended that we:
develop regulations for managing hazardous waste, including mandatory tracking systems
expand and upgrade waste infrastructure and apply the polluter pays principle
increase regulatory support for recovery or recycling of priority wastes, building on extended producer responsibility (product stewardship measures)
strengthen the monitoring of waste generation and treatment.
Both the Ministry for the Environment and the OECD reviews demonstrate a need for further work on waste minimisation if New Zealand is to realise the social, environmental and economic gains to be made from the more efficient use of resources, the reduction of waste, and improvements in its beneficial reuse.
New tools for waste minimisation: the Waste Minimisation Act 2008
The Waste Minimisation Act 2008 addresses the legislative and institutional issues raised in the OECD review (OECD, 2007) and provides tools and funding to improve waste minimisation. The Act was enacted on 25 September 2008. It is administered by the Ministry for the Environment and incorporates waste management activities carried out by local government before 2008, under the Local Government Act 1974. The Act is complemented by provisions relating to waste in the Resource Management Act 1991 and the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996.
The purpose of the Act is:
“to encourage waste minimisation and a decrease in disposal in order to—
(a) protect the environment from harm; and
(b) provide environmental, social, economic and cultural benefits.”
The Act provides:
a regulatory framework for establishing product stewardship. Product stewardship schemes can be voluntary or mandatory. Products declared to be ‘priority products’ would be regulated to ensure that a scheme is developed and that producers and others in the supply chain take responsibility throughout the product's life cycle
for a waste levy of $10 per tonne on waste going to landfill. This levy will apply from 1 July 2009 and will provide revenue for waste minimisation. Half of the levy money will be allocated to territorial authorities to implement their waste management and minimisation plans, and the remaining half (minus administration costs) will be allocated, through a fund, to waste minimisation projects
local authorities with powers and responsibilities for managing and minimising waste
regulatory powers relating to waste and the management of waste streams
powers to require reporting on waste and diverted materials
for a Waste Advisory Board to be established, to provide advice to the Minister on waste issues.
The Act also strengthens the role of the New Zealand Waste Strategy in local government planning by requiring local authorities to have regard to the Strategy when preparing waste management and minimisation plans.
How do we plan to improve waste management in New Zealand?
This discussion document seeks your views on the next steps in implementing the new Act and using the powers contained in the Act to minimise waste. Our proposals are presented in five parts, summarised below.
Part 1: Revising targets for the New Zealand Waste Strategy
The New Zealand Waste Strategy sets Government’s policy to minimise waste, including targets to drive effective action. We are revising the targets to reflect the recommendations of the 2006 review of progress towards the targets (MfE, 2007a), the OECD review of waste management policies in New Zealand (OECD, 2007), and the requirements of the new Act.
Part 2: Identifying priorities for product stewardship schemes
We are seeking to identify products that should be the initial focus for developing product stewardship schemes. Because we only have capacity to undertake work on a limited number of products at any one time, it is important effort is focused on where the most significant gains could be made.
Part 3: Identifying funding criteria for the Waste Minimisation Fund
The Waste Minimisation Fund will fund waste minimisation projects. Eligible proposals will be assessed against a published set of criteria and the best will be funded.
Part 4: Monitoring waste in New Zealand
The lack of comprehensive information on waste is hampering our ability to move forward with waste planning and policy development leading to better resource use. Part 4 deals with a proposal for additional data collection in 2009. Note that longer term monitoring is covered in Part 1, under the New Zealand Waste Strategy monitoring and reporting targets.
Part 5: Improving the operation of the waste levy
The implementation of the levy needs to recognise the need for good management practice at landfills, which includes ensuring that sufficient cover material remains available to cover waste to avoid environmental and health issues. Part 5 seeks feedback on whether the levy will affect the availability of cover material for landfills and whether cover material should have a zero levy to avoid adversely affecting the use of cover material.
https://www.safe.org.nz/dirty-dairy
What have we been doing to minimise and manage waste in New Zealand?
Several steps have been taken to minimise and manage waste in New Zealand, including: improving on-the-ground management of landfills developing a national strategy to focus our efforts developing more sustainable products and production systems. Managing the environmental effects of waste disposal Under the Resource Management Act 1991, regional councils regulate the environmental effects of waste disposal sites by granting and monitoring resource consents. Improvements in environmental management have resulted from more stringent regulatory requirements, and the closure of small poorly managed sites. The number of landfills decreased from 327 in 1995 (MfE, 2003), to 60 in 2006 (MfE, 2007a). More stringent regulatory requirements have included leachate collection, controls on what is disposed of in the landfill and systems for the management of landfill gas. The proportion of landfills with liners designed to prevent groundwater contamination rose from 4 per cent in 1998, to 52 per cent in 2006, and the proportion of landfills with leachate collection systems rose from 35 per cent in 1998 to 77 per cent in 2006 (MfE, 2007a). Decomposing organic waste in landfills generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The Resource Management (National Environmental Standards Relating to Certain Air Pollutants, Dioxins, and Other Toxics) Regulations 2004 (the air quality national environmental standard) required that by October 2007 at the latest, all operating landfills with a capacity of 1 million tonnes or more would collect and manage landfill gas. In 2006, 23 per cent of landfills were collecting landfill gas for beneficial use, compared with 5 per cent in 1998 (MfE, 2007a). However, a 2008 investigation of compliance with the landfill gas standard showed there may be some applicable landfills which still do not fully comply with the requirement to collect landfill gas. Burning wastes releases hazardous and toxic substances into the air. The air quality national environmental standard prohibits open burning of toxic materials, such as tyres, bitumen and waste oil, and fires at landfills. A Ministry for the Environment review of compliance with the national environmental standard in 2008 showed only two instances where the prohibition on fires at landfills was contravened. There was good compliance with the prohibition on burning bitumen and open burning of waste oil. However, there was poor compliance with the prohibition on open burning of tyres. There is also some evidence to suggest there has been an increase in the low temperature burning of waste oil. The New Zealand Waste Strategy: Towards zero waste and a sustainable New Zealand New Zealand Waste Strategy: Towards zero waste and a sustainable New Zealand (MfE, 2002) was developed through a partnership between central and local government. The Strategy sets Government policy to minimise waste. The Strategy covers solid, liquid and gaseous wastes. It deals with the life cycle of waste, from generation to disposal. The Strategy promotes resource efficiency at every stage of production and consumption, and focuses on waste prevention rather than on waste disposal. In particular, it supports the ‘waste hierarchy’ – reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery, treatment and disposal. The Strategy has a vision of ‘towards zero waste and a sustainable New Zealand’. It provides principles for guiding policy and priority setting, and includes an action plan for reducing and managing waste. The three core goals are to: lower the costs and risks of waste to society reduce the environmental damage from the generation and disposal of waste increase economic benefit by using material more efficiently. The Strategy provides four criteria to focus our efforts: volume and harm – deal with wastes that pose the biggest environmental and social risks because of their high toxicity or large volumes achievability – focus on what we can realistically achieve cost effectiveness – take measures that give the best value for money public concern – make sure plans are in step with community views. A key component of the Strategy has been its 30 targets. The Strategy anticipated that the targets would focus action in priority areas, to be reviewed as information became available and progress was made. A sound legislative basis for waste minimisation and management in New Zealand is one of the five core principles of the Strategy, and the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 is part of this legislative framework. Other initiatives The Ministry for the Environment has been working with industry to help develop more sustainable products and production systems. One example of this is the ‘Greening the Screen’ (MfE, 2005) initiative, a practical toolkit developed by the Ministry, Landcare Research, South Pacific Pictures, Waitakere City Council and the Screen Development and Production Council, aimed at improving sustainability in the film and television industry. Measuring progress in waste minimisation Progress against the original 30 targets in the Strategy was reviewed in 2006 (MfE, 2007a). The review showed that although progress has been made on meeting the Strategy’s objectives, more work needs to be done to prevent waste generation. The review found a need for improvements in waste monitoring and reporting. Lack of funding for waste minimisation was sometimes cited as a barrier to progress, particularly for councils with a small rating base and large numbers of tourists. The 2007 OECD environmental performance review (OECD, 2007) drew similar conclusions about New Zealand’s approach to waste management. It states, “Publication in 2002 of the national Waste Strategy gave needed focus and clarity, as well as national objectives and targets, to a waste management framework otherwise fragmented in its legislation and institutions”. The OECD review also noted that recycling activities in New Zealand were “economically vulnerable” and that there was a lack of aggregated waste management information at regional or national levels, which hampered strategic planning. The OECD review specifically recommended that we: develop regulations for managing hazardous waste, including mandatory tracking systems expand and upgrade waste infrastructure and apply the polluter pays principle increase regulatory support for recovery or recycling of priority wastes, building on extended producer responsibility (product stewardship measures) strengthen the monitoring of waste generation and treatment. Both the Ministry for the Environment and the OECD reviews demonstrate a need for further work on waste minimisation if New Zealand is to realise the social, environmental and economic gains to be made from the more efficient use of resources, the reduction of waste, and improvements in its beneficial reuse. New tools for waste minimisation: the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 The Waste Minimisation Act 2008 addresses the legislative and institutional issues raised in the OECD review (OECD, 2007) and provides tools and funding to improve waste minimisation. The Act was enacted on 25 September 2008. It is administered by the Ministry for the Environment and incorporates waste management activities carried out by local government before 2008, under the Local Government Act 1974. The Act is complemented by provisions relating to waste in the Resource Management Act 1991 and the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996. The purpose of the Act is: “to encourage waste minimisation and a decrease in disposal in order to— (a) protect the environment from harm; and (b) provide environmental, social, economic and cultural benefits.” The Act provides: a regulatory framework for establishing product stewardship. Product stewardship schemes can be voluntary or mandatory. Products declared to be ‘priority products’ would be regulated to ensure that a scheme is developed and that producers and others in the supply chain take responsibility throughout the product's life cycle for a waste levy of $10 per tonne on waste going to landfill. This levy will apply from 1 July 2009 and will provide revenue for waste minimisation. Half of the levy money will be allocated to territorial authorities to implement their waste management and minimisation plans, and the remaining half (minus administration costs) will be allocated, through a fund, to waste minimisation projects local authorities with powers and responsibilities for managing and minimising waste regulatory powers relating to waste and the management of waste streams powers to require reporting on waste and diverted materials for a Waste Advisory Board to be established, to provide advice to the Minister on waste issues. The Act also strengthens the role of the New Zealand Waste Strategy in local government planning by requiring local authorities to have regard to the Strategy when preparing waste management and minimisation plans. How do we plan to improve waste management in New Zealand? This discussion document seeks your views on the next steps in implementing the new Act and using the powers contained in the Act to minimise waste. Our proposals are presented in five parts, summarised below. Part 1: Revising targets for the New Zealand Waste Strategy The New Zealand Waste Strategy sets Government’s policy to minimise waste, including targets to drive effective action. We are revising the targets to reflect the recommendations of the 2006 review of progress towards the targets (MfE, 2007a), the OECD review of waste management policies in New Zealand (OECD, 2007), and the requirements of the new Act. Part 2: Identifying priorities for product stewardship schemes We are seeking to identify products that should be the initial focus for developing product stewardship schemes. Because we only have capacity to undertake work on a limited number of products at any one time, it is important effort is focused on where the most significant gains could be made. Part 3: Identifying funding criteria for the Waste Minimisation Fund The Waste Minimisation Fund will fund waste minimisation projects. Eligible proposals will be assessed against a published set of criteria and the best will be funded. Part 4: Monitoring waste in New Zealand The lack of comprehensive information on waste is hampering our ability to move forward with waste planning and policy development leading to better resource use. Part 4 deals with a proposal for additional data collection in 2009. Note that longer term monitoring is covered in Part 1, under the New Zealand Waste Strategy monitoring and reporting targets. Part 5: Improving the operation of the waste levy The implementation of the levy needs to recognise the need for good management practice at landfills, which includes ensuring that sufficient cover material remains available to cover waste to avoid environmental and health issues. Part 5 seeks feedback on whether the levy will affect the availability of cover material for landfills and whether cover material should have a zero levy to avoid adversely affecting the use of cover material.Range of possible actions:
-Compost bins: Installing compost bins in the school to reduce reusable food waste.
-More bins around the school: Having both rubbish and recycling with clear labels around the school so people know which bin to put there waste in.
-Punishment for littering: Fines for for littering around town. Not letting people off for littering.
-Reduce and recycle more: Reduce the amount of paper the school uses, double side when printing, raise awareness to recycle more.
-Get boys high involved: Come together to help and discuss what we could do to help the environment, eg Clean up around the school.
-Remove the trees/bush in the bus bay: Replace it all with seating and rubbish bins as it is filled with rubbish.
-Reduce the amount of plastic in whangarei: Bring back bags made out of fabric to reduce plastic from plastic bags.
12/06/17 Log:
Guest Speakers:
Jaqueline Knight and Anton Bowker from EcoSolutions NZ came to our school to provide help and guidance and extend on our ideas to help clean up the school. They talked about raising awareness on the litter and waste around our school. They also supplied us with useful websites to help with funding:
- http://www.awesomefoundation.org/en
-http://www.awesomefoundation.org/en
-https://z.co.nz/about-z/news/general-news/applications-now-open-for-1m-in-funding-for-neighbourhood-groups/
13/06/17 Log:
Rubbish Audit:
On Tuesday sorted through over 50 bags of rubbish from the day before. We had help from a year 9 class to help us sort the rubbish in into categories such as recyclable plastics, general waste, compost, food scraps, paper, glass, tins and cardboard. We first weighed each of the 50 bags separately before sorting through them. This added to 142.7kgs of rubbish being thrown out everyday. As shown below we see that general waste is the biggest problem in our school as can be recycled or reused. A lot of the general waste that I saw was plastics that couldn't be recycled such as 5's and 6's as New Zealand only recycles 1's and 2's.
9/10/17 Log:
KiwiRail:
Due to concerns about safety, kiwiRail has prohibited us from cleaning up the railway track on the . I had rung multiple people who kept redirecting me to others until I was finally told that in order to clean up the railway track we would need a member of staff from KiwiRail to supervise us on the railway track while we collect the rubbish. Unfortunately we were unable to acquire a member of staff therefore we were unable to go through with our action of cleaning up the track.
11/10/17:
Possible outcomes:
Outcome 1: I expect to see bins placed around the railway track, being utilise and no litter on the ground around the area. People respect the area and help to keep it clean.
Outcome 2: We are rejected by the council and are unable to continue with our action.
Outcome 3: We are successful with our action and clean up the train tracks but people are not respectful of the area and do not utilize the bins that have been placed, instead are just dumping their rubbish wherever, therefore our efforts were wasted.
12/06/17 Log:
Guest Speakers:
Jaqueline Knight and Anton Bowker from EcoSolutions NZ came to our school to provide help and guidance and extend on our ideas to help clean up the school. They talked about raising awareness on the litter and waste around our school. They also supplied us with useful websites to help with funding:
- http://www.awesomefoundation.org/en
-http://www.awesomefoundation.org/en
-https://z.co.nz/about-z/news/general-news/applications-now-open-for-1m-in-funding-for-neighbourhood-groups/
13/06/17 Log:
Rubbish Audit:
On Tuesday sorted through over 50 bags of rubbish from the day before. We had help from a year 9 class to help us sort the rubbish in into categories such as recyclable plastics, general waste, compost, food scraps, paper, glass, tins and cardboard. We first weighed each of the 50 bags separately before sorting through them. This added to 142.7kgs of rubbish being thrown out everyday. As shown below we see that general waste is the biggest problem in our school as can be recycled or reused. A lot of the general waste that I saw was plastics that couldn't be recycled such as 5's and 6's as New Zealand only recycles 1's and 2's.
9/10/17 Log:
KiwiRail:
Due to concerns about safety, kiwiRail has prohibited us from cleaning up the railway track on the . I had rung multiple people who kept redirecting me to others until I was finally told that in order to clean up the railway track we would need a member of staff from KiwiRail to supervise us on the railway track while we collect the rubbish. Unfortunately we were unable to acquire a member of staff therefore we were unable to go through with our action of cleaning up the track.
11/10/17:
Possible outcomes:
Outcome 1: I expect to see bins placed around the railway track, being utilise and no litter on the ground around the area. People respect the area and help to keep it clean.
Outcome 3: We are successful with our action and clean up the train tracks but people are not respectful of the area and do not utilize the bins that have been placed, instead are just dumping their rubbish wherever, therefore our efforts were wasted.
