Hon Scott Simpson

Associate Minister for the Environment

3 July 2017

Government releases review of waste disposal levy

Associate Environment Minister Scott Simpson has released a review into the waste disposal levy.

The review makes three specific recommendations to support targeted investment in areas that will return the greatest waste minimisation outcomes:

1. Strategy - develop a clear vision, strategy and set of outcomes for the future direction of the waste disposal levy.

2. Data - invest in developing a national waste data collection and evaluation framework that targets key information to prioritise waste issues and measure the effectiveness of the waste disposal levy.

3. Approach - develop and implement a staged approach to applying the waste disposal levy across additional classes of landfills.

“In coming years, the focus will be to encourage businesses to rethink the design of their products and systems in order to reduce the harmful impacts of wasted resources.

“The Waste Minimisation Fund will continue to invest in meaningful projects that provide waste minimisation outcomes. Further support will also be provided to territorial authorities to invest in the infrastructure needed to lift effectiveness in collecting and processing recoverable, valuable resources in their communities.”

“The overarching approach will remain to work with our partners to reduce the environmental harm associated with waste, whilst also providing social, economic, and health benefits.”

The $10 per tonne waste disposal levy was introduced in 2009 under the Waste Minimisation Act and applies to waste deposited at defined landfill facilities. The Minister is required to review the levy’s effectiveness every three years. Since it was introduced, the levy has raised more than $192 million which has been distributed to national and local initiatives to reduce waste.

http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1707/Review_of_the_effectiveness_of_the_waste_disposal_levy_2017.pdf

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