Submit on the Govt consultation to regulate harmful plastic products, including packaging

Published by Hannah Blumhardt on

On Friday 9 August 2019, Minister Eugenie Sage MP announced the Government will be consulting on a proposal to declare a range of problematic waste streams “priority products”, by the end of this year. This would mean that a product stewardship scheme for those products MUST be developed. The proposed products are:

  • Tyres
  • Electrical and electronic products
  • Agrichemicals and their containers
  • Refrigerants
  • Farm plastics
  • Packaging (including single-use plastic packaging and beverage packaging).

Product stewardship schemes make those who design, manufacture, sell, use and dispose of a product responsible for ensuring the product is effectively reduced, reused, recycled or recovered, and for managing any harm that product causes when it becomes waste. Such schemes can take the burden off consumers, councils and the environment to manage the harmful and costly effects of unregulated products.

This consultation is a big deal and could mean big strides forward in reducing plastic pollution in Aotearoa. You can check out the consultation document and submission form on the Ministry for the Environnment website. Submissions are open until 4 October 2019 and we encourage everyone to make a submission.

If you feel like you need more information to help you submit, check out these resources produced by members of APPA:

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Hannah Blumhardt

Hannah Blumhardt

Hannah runs The Rubbish Trip with her partner, Liam Prince. They've lived 'waste-free' since the beginning of 2015 and now travel New Zealand full-time giving talks and presentations about low-waste living, to schools, businesses and community groups. Hannah is also the Coordinator of the New Zealand Product Stewardship Council. In a past life she worked for various legal, government, academic and not-for-profit institutions.

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