From a business/commercial perspective, the circular economy runs on three key steps:
- collecting,
- sorting/processing, and
- selling recyclable materials.
Break any link in this chain and the whole system falters. For example, contamination – it degrades collected materials, making them worthless or impossible to recycle. As manufacturers increasingly impose stringent quality standards on input materials, recyclers face the daunting task of maintaining high-quality outputs.
Another significant hurdle is the closure of onshore manufacturing facilities, such as the Oji mills closing. This shift forces recyclers to export more materials overseas, adding complexity and cost to the process. The complex nature of many input materials, such as plastics and textiles, often require manual sorting, driving up operational costs. Textiles pose a special challenge due to their mix of stitched-together materials, often making separation and recovery simply too costly to be practical.
To overcome these obstacles and successfully scale the circular economy, several key strategies are needed:
- Education and awareness: Waste is everyone’s problem and needs action from all. Educating consumers about proper recycling and recovery practices is crucial, which is why WM New Zealand offers free videos showing businesses exactly what they can recycle. Clear product labelling, consistent messaging, and targeted education campaigns can significantly reduce contamination rates.
- Improved collection systems: Boosting material recovery means investing in collection systems that work – from kerbside pickup to drop-off centres and community recycling programmes. A good example is the WM Tyre Recycling Facility in Wiri, Auckland, a part of the Tyrewise scheme, that can process thousands of tonnes of automotive tyres weekly.
- Smarter technology: Advanced sorting technologies can improve efficiency and accuracy, reducing the reliance on manual labour and minimising contamination.
- Better product design: Working with manufacturers to create easily repairable and recyclable products simplifies sorting, increases recovery rates, and improves material quality.
- Market development: Fostering a robust market, preferably within New Zealand, for recycled materials is vital. This involves developing new markets; exploring alternative uses for recovered materials (such as tyre crumb for use in playgrounds, or tyre-derived fuel); promoting the use of recycled content in products; and incentivising businesses to choose recycled materials over virgin resources.
- Government support: Government policies and regulations can play a significant role in driving the circular economy. Incentives, subsidies, and extended producer responsibility schemes can encourage recycling and reduce waste.
Creating a sustainable future for New Zealand means tackling these challenges head-on. The circular economy delivers multiple benefits – conserving resources while driving economic growth. Making it happen requires everyone – individuals, businesses, and government – pulling in the same direction.
About the author
Ingrid is WM New Zealand’s Chief Growth & Sustainability Officer, championing sustainability across the business and throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. She helps drive improved circularity and carbon reduction while growing WM through strategic thinking and intelligent marketing and great customer management. With customer experience as a cornerstone of her approach, she develops innovative products and enhances customer success, building team capabilities that deliver market-beating results. She holds an MBA, has received two global innovation awards for her team's work. Beyond the boardroom, Ingrid balances executive responsibilities with family life alongside her two children, Henley (9) and Willow (6).
About WM New Zealand
WM New Zealand is the country's largest waste and resource recovery company with over 2000 team members working across 70 locations nationwide. WM operates New Zealand's biggest commercial electric fleet and leads in composting and waste-to-energy solutions., We partner with councils on innovative solutions like Christchurch's three-bin system, managing everything from household recycling to food and green waste collections. Last year WM processed over 11.2 million old tyres, generated electricity which is capable of power 25,000 homes and launched new facilities to process hard to recycle plastics.
At WM New Zealand we champion resource recovery and recycling across Aotearoa through initiatives such as turning garden waste into compost, old wheelie bins into new ones, used cardboard into fresh paper board, plastic pipes back into pipes. We even transform landfill organics into electricity. These aren't just feel-good initiatives; they're real progress toward a circular economy that keeps valuable materials out of landfill.