Find out what's happening in the WasteMINZ sector groups
Product Stewardship
The Product Stewardship Sector Group steering committee was well represented at the WasteMINZ Conference with four committee members - Hannah Blumhardt, Rob Wilson, Karen Driver and Mark Hilton - presenting papers. Pictured here is committee member Hannah Blumhardt presenting on her research for Āmiomio Aotearoa on Regulating product, production and consumption for a circular economy in Aotearoa New Zealand”. Looking on is her fellow committee member Mark Hilton from Eunomia, who presented on “An outsider’s view of resource management and waste policy in NZ”, alongside fellow presenters Jacqui Forbes from Para Kore and Doctoral student Warren Fitzgerald. The Collaboration session also included quick updates from four of the regulated product stewardship schemes.
A Reuse Group, initiated by the product stewardship sector group steering committee, but with support from several other sector groups, had its first meeting in May. The group has been established to advocate for the waste & resource recovery sector to have a greater focus on reuse. The first action for the group is to come up a shared understanding of the definition of reuse.
Recycling & Resource Recovery
A construction waste working group is being established with WasteMINZ members with a particular interest and experience in this topic represented, as well as non-WasteMINZ members who will bring much needed experience of the building sector to the group. While the group is still in its establishment phase, its focus will likely be on designing out construction waste and acting as a sounding board for central government policy on construction waste and recovery.
Behaviour Change
The chair of the steering committee, Katie Buller, and University of Auckland Master student Philippa Johnson presented their findings from a behaviour change project at the recent WasteMINZ Conference. The project applied behavioural insights to address the problem of declining participation in Auckland Council’s food scraps service. These findings along with research by Sunshine Yates and Alice Kan were the topic of a webinar held on 16 June. The steering committee is also providing input into the Ministry for the Environment’s Action and Investment Plan, which will guide how the national Waste Strategy is translated into action. Further the committee is looking into working closely with the TAO Forum to create content for upskilling WasteMINZ members around Te Tiriti o Waitangi, as well as focusing on behaviour change initiatives around reducing textile waste by using the upcoming Plastic Free July campaign as a platform.
Recent minutes are on the member portal site: Behaviour Change Sector Group (wasteminz.org.nz)
Organic Materials
The Organic Materials Sector Group steering committee is engaged in consultations with the Ministry for the Environment to provide input into the new Waste Strategy’s Action and Investment Plan. The committee is also looking at putting together a submission on the Climate Change Commission’s advice on the second Emissions Reduction Plan. There are plans to host a webinar on the issue of Managing Odour Emissions from Large Scale Compost Facilities in the near future. Steering committee members are working to develop a diagram of what the organic materials sector in NZ looks like, to guide sector activity going forward. Moreover, the committee plans to support International Compost Awareness Week 2024 and is making arrangements to plan for this in the upcoming months.
Meeting minutes are available on the member portal site.
Health & Safety
The Health & Safety Sector Group steering committee welcomed a new chair, Danny McClure from Hastings District Council, and thanked the outgoing Chair, Guy Smith from Waste Management, for his commitment and contributions to the sector group over the past years.
The committee is reviewing the H&S Guidelines Part 4, and working on a register of predominant accident and injury trends within the industry. A risk register for activities related to working on the road will be put together to supplement the WorkSafe Guidelines for working on the road. Several committee members are engaged in two working groups - the joint battery collection working group and the KCTL train-the-trainer criteria review working group. The committee is supporting the creation of micro-credentials for new unit-standards for training within the industry, and they are looking at re-running the awareness campaign “Do Bin Day the Safe Way” later this year, subject to funding. Meeting minutes are available on the member portal.
Contaminated Land Management (CLM)
The CLM Sector Group had a separate stream at the recent WasteMINZ conference. Critical sector issues and the impact of the Natural and Built Environment Bill were discussed as well as the recently released HAIL guidance from MfE.
The Residential Lead Working Group held a separate workshop following the WasteMINZ conference with 96 people attending. The working group has discussed the outcomes of the workshop and attendees will be asked via a survey to help prioritise the work of the group going forward.
The Asbestos Disposal Working Group is revising the asbestos guidelines and finalising the documentation before going out to public consultation.
The Coal Tar in Roading Working Group is currently consulting with key stakeholders on its guidance document, with consultation closing on 16June.
In the Soil Disposal Sampling and Re-use Working Group (joint with Disposal to Land Sector Group), Graham Aveyard resigned as the Chair and handed over the role to Tim Dee. A draft guidance document has been written and is being finalised to go out for consultation in the second half of the year.
A joint working group with the New Zealand Geotechnical Society has also been set up. The first task of this joint working group is to produce a joint practice note on the drivers of soil movement and alternative solutions to soil disposal.
The CLM Sector Group steering committee has also provided input into the Ministry for the Environment’s Action and Investment Plan (AIP), which will guide how the national Waste Strategy is translated into action.
Disposal to Land
The Disposal to Land Sector group has met with MfE to provide input into the Ministry for the Environment’s Action and Investment Plan (AIP).
Fiona Smith has been participating in the Soil Disposal Sampling and Re-use Working Group, which is a joint working group with CLM.
The sector group is currently working on two submissions being:
- Submission on EPA notice on POPs: the Hazardous Substances (Storage and Disposal of Persistent Organic Pollutants)
- Submission on the Climate Change Commission’s draft advice on the next Emissions Reduction Plan
The sector group is also looking into guidance for dealing with farm waste.
Territorial Authorities’ Officers Forum
Ahead of the WasteMINZ conference the members of the Territorial Authorities’ Officers Forum met and participated in workshops with MfE, and learned about working in partnership with mana whenua and waste management in times of disaster. The day ended with pecha kucha style presentations and various councils highlighting their local success stories.
The Forum is also working on a submission to the Climate Change Commission’s draft advice on the next Emissions Reduction Plan.