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re:source

Rethinking Waste Potential

Issue 5, INFO 427
July 2009

Welcome to the fifth issue of re:source an e-newsletter from the Ministry for the Environment.

re:source will keep you up-to-date with the progress we are making implementing the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 and developments being made in the field of resource efficiency.

If you have any feedback or questions for the Waste Minimisation team about re:source or any other waste-related topics please email us at:
waste@mfe.govt.nz

If you’ve received re:source directly from the Ministry for the Environment, you are already a subscriber. If you are not the original recipient you may subscribe to re:source by emailing waste@mfe.govt.nz

In this issue:

Waste disposal levy introduction: 1 July

From 1 July 2009, waste disposal facility operators will be required to pay a waste disposal levy of $10 per tonne (excluding GST) on all waste disposed of at their facility. Revenue from this levy will be used to fund waste minimisation activities.

The levy has been introduced as part of the implementation of the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 to ‘encourage waste minimisation and decrease waste disposal in New Zealand’.

To help you understand details around the waste disposal levy, we have put together a pack of information for you to refer to:

For more information email: waste@mfe.govt.nz

New agrichemicals product stewardship initiative 

Agrecovery chemicals is a new product stewardship scheme to manage the disposal of agrichemicals that will operate from July 2009. The new scheme, set up by industry representatives, will provide a simple and cost effective, nationwide collection and disposal service for old and unwanted agrichemicals.

The collection and disposal of unwanted agrichemicals sold by companies who have signed up to the product stewardship scheme will be undertaken at no charge. However, any agrichemicals from companies who have not signed up to the scheme will attract a user-pays collection and disposal fee.

The Ministry for the Environment has committed funding of up to $200,000 to pay for the disposal of ‘legacy’ agrichemicals, which have been expired for two years or more.

Qualified and licensed collection and disposal contractors will process the agrichemicals. Intractable agrichemicals including persistent organic pollutants will be shipped overseas for high temperature incineration. Other agrichemicals will be treated and made safe and disposed of in New Zealand.

For more information go to: www.agrecovery.co.nz
or phone: 0800 AGRECOVERY (0800 247 326).

Mainzeal focused on sustainable construction

At the recent Ministry for the Environment Green Ribbon Awards Mainzeal Property and Construction Ltd was awarded a highly commended in the ‘Businesses Making a Difference’ category, for their contribution towards a sustainable construction industry in New Zealand.

Mainzeal is attempting to eliminate waste and maximise resource recovery at every step of the construction process. This is huge task for an industry that is estimated to contribute over 50 per cent by weight of waste disposed of at our landfills. On several large projects Mainzeal are regularly achieving greater than 90 per cent recycling by weight.

“Market rents for Green buildings are traditionally higher but; they have lower operating costs, more productive staff and are great recruitment and retention tools,” says Sustainability Manager for Mainzeal, Ross Copland.

“It is far simpler to make a building sustainable before the first spade goes in the ground than three years down the track when you realise the building is inefficient, unhealthy and unproductive.”

Copland believes it’s important to educate staff so they understand the importance of the work they are involved in. He says the Green Ribbon Award has stirred up excitement among Mainzeal staff to continue their efforts in sustainable building – “having staff who are committed to the vision and purpose makes a real difference.”

The Ministry for the Environment runs the Green Ribbon Awards each year to honour the outstanding contributions made by individuals, organisations and businesses to sustaining, protecting and enhancing New Zealand’s environment.

For more information contact: ross.copland@mainzeal.com

New Zealand Post sees business sense in sustainability

A staff-led sustainability initiative aimed at refurbishing and redeploying surplus office equipment and furniture within New Zealand Post has generated significant cost savings for the business.

“Building on its success, the initiative is now being marketed to the Government sector,” says Postal Services Chief Executive Peter Fenton.

The recycling centre can help large organisations by taking away their surplus equipment, which previously would often go into a waste skip and be sent to landfill.

“It helps organisations meet their sustainability and corporate responsibility objectives. They can record what they have sent off to be recycled rather than dumped and how much they have saved,” Peter says..

He says the centre used a pool of about a dozen contractors from the Kapiti area - including an upholsterer, welder, painter and a seamstress - to collect, refurbish and resell old equipment.

The centre is one of a wide range of the initiatives aimed at helping New Zealand Post Group meet its corporate responsibility goal of reducing the carbon footprint of assets in its care by 12 per cent by 2012.

For more information contact: kim.gray@nzpost.co.nz

re:source survey results

Thank you to those of you who took the time to complete the re:source readership survey. Your input will help us to improve re:source and make it a more valuable tool.

Overall, the feedback was very positive and re:source is generally seen as a good source of information and updates by its readers.

Suggestions for improvement included:

  • more discussion/debate on topical issues around waste disposal
  • international examples on waste issues with relevant examples
  • more acknowledgement of operations and businesses who have implemented successful waste minimisation strategies.

All comments will be taken in to consideration to help us improve re:source.

Feedback from the survey showed that there is some confusion about the purpose of re:source, so, we thought we would clarify how we expect re:source to be used by our readers:

re:source is an ‘umbrella publication’ for the Ministry for the Environment waste team. It covers developments in the implementation of the Waste Minimisation Act 2008, updates on waste policy and new initiatives in the field of waste minimisation.

re:source is intended to give you a quick overview on topics and then link you to further information or contacts who can help you with specific queries.

re:source services a wide range of stakeholders, therefore it can’t cover technical or stakeholder specific information in-depth. However, where relevant, we do send regular communications to key stakeholder groups which are more detailed and are intended to complement re:source.

For more information or to provide further feedback or suggestions for re:source please email: waste@mfe.govt.nz

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