Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | News Video | Crime | Employers | Housing | Immigration | Legal | Local Govt. | Maori | Welfare | Unions | Youth | Search

 

Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme ready for more regulation


The Government’s announcement to move towards co-designed and regulated product stewardship for single-use plastic packaging acknowledges the work of the existing voluntary Soft Plastics Recycling scheme.

The Packaging Forum set up soft plastics collections in 2015 and the soft plastic recycling scheme received accreditation as a voluntary product stewardship scheme under the Waste Minimisation Act in March 2018.

Chair of the scheme Malcolm Everts says that the impact of China’s National Sword policy and the collapse of global markets for mixed plastics forced a major re-set of the scheme.

“One year ago, there was no onshore processing of post-consumer soft plastics. Today there are two North Island plants Future Post in Waiuku and Second Life Plastics in Levin which are great examples of Kiwi ingenuity. We are working with them and our members to increase demand for their products. To have a sustainable circular economy where waste materials are re-processed into new valuable products and commodities, we need industry, councils and government departments to start buying products which are made from our recycling efforts.”

“However, the principal limiting factor for our scheme is lack of near shore / on shore processing facilities. It is not a lack of industry support or a lack of consumer willingness to drop off their soft plastic packaging, it is the fact there are currently only two processors in North Island that are able to process post-consumer soft plastics.”

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

“We have re-set the scheme so that collection volumes will match NZ processing capacity. We re-started collections in Auckland in May and will add collections in the Waikato next month with other regions being added as processing capacity becomes available.”

Scheme members’ levies fund collections from stores, quality checks, baling, transport to end markets and contribute to the processing costs as well. This is different from the traditional model where the processor pays the collector/recycler for the materials.

The Government’s proposals are consistent with our message outlined in our August newsletter which summarises the formula for success as a combination of the following:

Materials: Kiwis drop off their clean soft plastic packaging for recycling
Funding: Industry joins the Scheme to increase available funding
Demand: Local and Central Government and Industry buy from our processing partners; and
Collaboration: to introduce More Processing Capacity throughout New Zealand, plus support reduce and reuse initiatives.

“To achieve effective soft plastics recycling product stewardship within the timeframe set in the Discussion Paper, we hope to see soft plastic recycling processing projects funded in this year’s Funding Round and through the additional $40 million in funding announced through the Provincial Growth Fund. It is only with a substantial increase in processing capacity including on South Island that the Scheme can deliver its full potential”

For more information about Soft Plastics Recycling Scheme visit https://www.recycling.kiwi.nz/solutions/soft-plastics


© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines



Gordon Campbell: On Dune 2, And Images Of Islam


Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture tends to be hostile to Islam when we’re sitting in the dark, with popcorn.
Any number of movie examples come to mind, beginning with Rudolf Valentino’s role (over a century ago) as the romantic Arab hero in The Sheik...
More


 
 


Government: One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track

The Coalition Government’s new one-stop-shop fast track consenting regime for regional and national projects of significance will cut red tape and make it easier for New Zealand to build the infrastructure and major projects needed to get the country moving again... More

ALSO:


Government: GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, outlining the Coalition Government’s plan to build and maintain a transport system that enables people to get to where they need to go quickly and safely... More

ALSO:

Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.