One of the highlights of the WasteMINZ + ALGA Conference 2026 was the collaborative session, where delegates came together to explore important opportunities and challenges facing our sector.
Guided by the conference theme, Mā te mahi tahi – Driving impact through collaboration, participants shared ideas and identified practical actions across four discussion topics. The summaries below capture the key themes that emerged from these conversations. A sincere thank you to our facilitators for generously sharing their expertise and guiding the discussions.
The ideas captured here will help inform wider sector conversations and contribute to the development of WasteMINZ's work programme as we continue to work with members, industry, local and central government, and other stakeholders to turn challenges into practical opportunities.
Facilitators: Sophien Brockbank and Kimberley Hope (Tonkin + Taylor)
Participants explored how waste licensing can progress in the absence of a national framework, recognising that while a nationally consistent approach remains uncertain, there is strong sector support for improving oversight, accountability and data across the waste system. The discussion considered different pathways, including waiting for central government action, alternative data-focused approaches, and locally led licensing, with the greatest focus placed on the opportunities and challenges of council-led approaches. Participants highlighted the potential for licensing to improve access to reliable data, strengthen relationships between councils and waste operators, support Waste Management and Minimisation Plan outcomes, and provide greater visibility of waste activities where councils no longer directly deliver services. Challenges identified included the resources required to establish and maintain licensing systems, differences between council approaches, and varying capacity across waste operators to collect and report data. There was strong support for greater consistency and collaboration between councils, with the view that local and regional progress can deliver benefits now while helping build the foundations for a future national framework.
Facilitator: Brigitte Sistig (Repair Network Aotearoa)
At this collaborative session, participants mapped regional available repair options, spanning traditional businesses, technical specialists, and community Repair Cafés, delighted to learn about repair options in different locations. Key opportunities identified included creating a comprehensive database of local repair options as well as durable, repairable products linked to Council safe disposal options, as well as establishing central city repair hubs with diverse local repairers in one accessible location. The session strongly emphasised that grounding the Repair Movement in Te Tiriti o Waitangi requires direct partnership with kaupapa Māori-led organisations like Para Kore, working in with their established marae connections and cultural stewardship. To measure true repair impact, participants advocated moving beyond simple weight metrics toward tracking item volumes, unit counts, dollar value, material age, local repair capacity, and brand quality. Communicating these outcomes through single-page visual infographics would be particularly impactful by evaluating overall product lifespan, reusable packaging, repairability, and sustainability. Finally, working group findings stressed that New Zealand’s repair regulations must mandate affordable spare parts, diagnostic tools, open product design, and stronger minimum warranties over deceptive extended ones. Introducing independent durability testing, fault tracking, and point-of-sale ratings will effectively counter planned obsolescence and hold global manufacturers accountable.
Facilitator: Jo Ferry (Tonkin + Taylor)
This collaborative table centred around the update to the Disposal To Land Guidelines that the working group has been working on for the past 6 months. The update is based on feedback received from members and will cover most sections of The Guidelines. Discussion at the collaborative table centred around 3 aspects of the updates:
The feedback that was received has been provided back to the working group for consideration in the update of The Guidelines. The updated draft Guidelines is due to release for consultation in late September.
Facilitator: Karen Titulaer
The session discussion highlighted that government plays a critical role in shifting from waste management to resource recovery by establishing enabling system conditions, such as setting baseline expectations, creating a level playing field for businesses, driving public behaviour change, and removing barriers for small and medium enterprises. It also emphasized the importance of government leadership in directing investment and leveraging tools like public procurement to support areas underserved by the market. To further advance a circular economy, participants recommended strengthening policy frameworks through measures such as reinstating organics diversion requirements and targeted levies, ensuring focused use of waste levies, implementing a container return scheme, and ensuring product policy is a part of the updated legislation. Additionally, there was a focus on improving understanding of product materials and additives to reduce harmful impacts and enable safer, more sustainable circular practices.