Plastics in the Aotearoa New Zealand Economy - It's Not Just About Packaging!
Eunomia and Whirika Consulting’s recent groundbreaking work for the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment on plastic flows into Aotearoa NZ has used import data and product composition information to estimate the key sources and quantities of plastics coming into the economy, and hence the key plastic waste streams being generated. You may be surprised by the results, as it's not mainly in packaging, which is very visible, but rather hidden in plain sight - most notably in vehicles, textiles, electricals and rubber products. A lot of this plastic is both complex in terms of the material/ polymer mix and hazardous - materials which NZ has no real means to deal with effectively, and export is also difficult given various international agreements and national bans. The work implies the need for more comprehensive product policy, across a wide range of product groups, to more effectively deal with these difficult and non-commercial plastic waste streams. This webinar presented by Rachel Stoner from Eunomia will cover the study approach, its main findings and thoughts on potential policy improvements to help address the situation.
Rachel Stoner - Eunomia
Rachel is a consultant with five years of experience in environmental policy and strategy, with a strong technical foundation from her Master’s in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cambridge.
She began her career with Eunomia in the UK before relocating to New Zealand. Rachel is experienced in corporate carbon accounting and Net Zero planning, including modelling that is GHG Protocol- and SBTi-aligned, as well as a range of work in environmental policy and strategy, Extended Producer Responsibility, and packaging recyclability. She is motivated by the opportunity to develop practical and actionable solutions that result in genuine impact on the ground, and she enjoys working closely with stakeholders to ensure solutions work for them.