WasteMINZ Board election 2023

Dr Alec McNeil
Christchurch City Council
Manager Resource Recovery
Alec is standing for his third term on the WasteMINZ Board and has recently changed job to become the Manager Resource Recovery at Christchurch City Council.
Having been involved in the waste sector since the 1990s, in both private and public sector senior leadership roles, he is keen to continue serving the WasteMINZ membership on the Board.
Alec notes that the 2023 General Election will change the makeup of the government which makes it all the more important to ensure that WasteMINZ continues to represent the views of its membership to elected and Ministry officials. There is significant change ahead for the waste sector and WasteMINZ and its members continue to be in a strong position to provide essential thought leadership that will inform decision makers.
Alec is a waste sector thought leader and has demonstrated this through his involvement with multiple WasteMINZ working groups, industry working groups, Ministry reference groups, and international working groups. He holds a Doctor of Professional Practice where his research area was product stewardship.

Chris Purchas
Tonkin+Taylor
Sector Director, Waste + Resource Recovery
Chris is a resource recovery and strategy specialist working across the waste & resource recovery sector in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific. For almost 30 years he has worked closely with local authorities, government and the private sector across New Zealand to identify, evaluate and implement a range of options to maximise resource recovery and effectively manage residual waste.
In the last 15 years he has also been active in Australia and the Pacific providing a unique perspective on key issues and opportunities for our sector in New Zealand. Chris loves working in this sector because of the great people, the positive impact we can have on people and the environment, and the complex challenges we have to navigate.
Chris is an active participant in the waste and resource recovery sector, regularly presenting at conferences and workshops and contributing to WasteMINZ projects. He chairs the WasteMINZ Organic Materials Sector Group Steering Committee, working on a range of key issues included Clopyralid, compostable plastics, biosolids and market development. In that role, he has regularly provided a sector perspective for the media.
For the WasteMINZ Board, Chris can bring:
- A detailed understanding of the New Zealand waste and resource recovery sector including understanding where we have come from and where aim to get to.
- Strong relationships across the sector – Chris works with the community sector, local government (staff and politicians) and commercial players.
- A track record in finding ways to get things done – supporting decision making, engaging with diverse stakeholders, thinking outside of the box.
- Enthusiasm for what we can achieve through effective collaboration across the sector.
As current chair of the Organic Materials Sector Group Steering Committee, Chris has seen first-hand the value of sector collaboration to address issues of common interest to the community, stakeholders and government. He would love the opportunity to bring this experience to the WasteMINZ Board alongside his extensive knowledge of waste and resource recovery in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific.
With so much happening at a community, sector and government level it is more important than ever that we have a united voice and holistic approach to removing barriers and realising the opportunities in front of us.

Sandy Botterill
Foodstuffs NZ
Head of Environmental Social Governance
Sandy Botterill started her career as an environmental lawyer and has an extensive background in strategy, transformation and change. Sandy is the Head of Environmental Social Governance (ESG) at Foodstuffs NZ.
Prior to her current role, she was working as the Circular Economy Lead with Plastics NZ helping Aotearoa to adopt circular economy principles for plastic, working closely with industry and the Ministry for the Environment on this programme of work.
Sandy is very proud of a number of initiatives she’s had the privilege to lead, namely:
- Good Caps Programme – a pilot programme in primary schools aimed at the recovery of lids and caps, and teaching tamariki about the circular economy and why materials should be valued, and not seen as rubbish
- Chair of Expanded Polystyrene Product Stewardship Steer Co – aligned to the development of Plastic Packaging Product Stewardship, a material specific group focused on product stewardship across B2B and B2C systems
- Facilitator of Expanded Polystyrene Working Group – a group focused on research into EPS in the NZ context, including material flow as well as connecting to the wider region (via APCO) from a market perspective
- Facilitator of Polypropylene Working Group – aimed to reduce the amount of #5 PP going to landfill across both post-consumer and post commercial channels
- CircularConnect – a fund established to connect businesses to consultants who encouraged businesses toward product design that would enhance a low emission circular economy
Sandy also participates in a number of groups and committees:
- Current Member of NZ Food Waste Champions 12.3
- Current Member FGC Sustainability Committee
- Previous Member of NZPPI Plastics Advisory Committee
Sandy is passionate about ESG – people, place and prosperity. She has strong experience in the circular economy, behavioural change, product labelling, design principles aligned to sustainable outcomes, resource recovery and product stewardship.
Sandy believes in WasteMINZ’s purpose, and would love to be part of the incredible mahi that’s enabled through WasteMINZ’s diverse membership.
Sandy has a Masters in Environmental Law with Honours and Post Graduate Diploma in Business from University of Auckland.