New Zealand Waste Crisis

The management of waste, especially plastic waste, is an international problem that is yet to have an umbrella solution because every country has its unique structure and response systems. In the developed world, New Zealand is one of the highest producers of household waste (Casinader, 2018), placing it at the center of attention regarding the implementation of proposals to address plastic waste crisis. As purchasing and product choice increase, it is becoming increasingly clear that not every waste can be recycled. Millions of tonnes of waste end up straying into the natural environment or in landfills. There is a problem in New Zealand regarding how to regulate the use of plastics in order to reduce their availability, and a problem of disposal, in ways that do not degrade the environment, with solutions presented including reduction of waste generating activities, reusing products, recycling waste, recovering useful material, treating waste to reduce environmental impact, and disposing waste safely where it applies.

The key issue in New Zealand waste management include the regulation of waste generating activities, with particular focus on plastic due to its nature and impact on the environment. According to New Zealand’s Ministry for the Environment (MFE) (1997), the average person uses and discards about 60 kilos of plastic every year, due to increased consumption and the advantages of using plastic as packaging material. Casinader (2018) adds that the system that New Zealand has for dealing with waste is severely broken, further worsened by the increased use of plastic. It is clear that a regulation problem exists as far as the New Zealand government is supposed to control the production and use of plastic vis-à-vis the impact on the environment. Another issue is the notable lack of a proper disposal structure as highlighted by Casinader (2018) and a lack of guidance from the local authorities on how to safely reuse, recycle, recover, treat, and reduce waste in the environment MFE (2020). Overall, these issues have made it difficult for New Zealand to solve its waste crisis in line with the global efforts to curb environmental degradation.

At the end of 2019, the New Zealand government kicked of a successful campaign of banning plastic shopping bags as a way of tackling the plastic waste problem. The Waste Minimisation Act 2008 (WMA) also gives mandate to the Auckland Council to enforce policies relating to waste reduction in the medium term and Zero Waste in the long term. According to the MFE (2020), the banning of plastics is part of a larger plan to achieve an economy where plastic does not contribute to pollution or becoming waste. To address the issue of regulation and the disposal of plastic waste, it is proposed that the Auckland Council enforces the WMA, the Local Government Act 2002 and the Auckland Transitional Provisions Act 2010 that will ensure use of less plastic through regulated and self-imposed campaigns and provide avenues for reusing, repurposing, and recycling any plastic that is retained (MFE, 2020). Casinader (2018) proposes the same formula to address the issues that plastics have continued to pose in New Zealand, suggesting turning to recycling of plastic as a solution that has other synergies such as creation of employment more revenues for local authorities. Overall, MFE’s (1997) showed trends that evidenced today, citing increased use of plastics and the overburdening of landfilled areas that would negatively impact the environment. Combined, MFE (2020), MFE (1997), Casinader (2018) and Canterbury (2016) agree on a need for the country to rethink its waste disposal structures and to come up with regulatory control for consumption relating to plastics, their use, and their disposal. Accordingly, a new approach to waste management is proposed, including levies on plastic products, particularly for the consumption and production stages, as a way of discouraging industries and households to produce ad consume plastics. However, this regulatory approach would not be effective on its own as noted by Casinader (2018), but requires other infrastructural reinforcement including the phasing out of hard-to-recycle plastics, taking severe action on the production and use of single-use plastic products (MFE, 2020), reduction of waste generating activities, reusing products, recycling waste, recovering useful material, treating waste to reduce environmental impact (MFE, 1997), and disposing waste safely where it applies. These possible solutions apply to the issue of lax regulations and a problem of disposal, especially for plastics that have become such a convenient part of New Zealanders consumption.

In conclusion, the problem of plastic waste in New Zealand is manageable through government’s and the Auckland Council’s joint efforts. However, it will require joint efforts from regulators, environmental conservation agencies, manufacturers, industries, and households as the main stakeholders in the processing and consumption of plastics. Regulators are tasked with a role of ensuring that New Zealanders have negative incentives to consume plastics, especially hard-to-recycle products. Households, industries, and manufacturers will have to adjust to use of plastics that can be reused, recycled, recovered, and properly disposed to reduce their impact on the environment. Efforts will need to be coordinated, in a way that the proposed bans, phasing out of certain plastics, and the introduction of heavy taxation on single use plastics all converge in a government-sponsored effort to solve the waste crisis in New Zealand.

Word Count: 870

Writing Plan

I began the paper by reading through all the articles listed below. The intention was to get a bearing of the waste crisis in New Zealand. It also allowed me to formulate a working thesis based on the two question regarding the issues and the possible solutions. After formulating the thesis, I introduced the topic and stated the problems carefully. I then focused on the problems in New Zealand and the extent of the waste crisis. I mentioned some fundamental data regarding how much plastic is used and disposed into the environment. Then, I moved on to the solution section, mentioning all of the solutions posited by various articles, with particular reference to the plastic problem. I then concluded the essay restating some of the key issues and findings.

References

Canterbury, (2016). High levels of microplastics found on NZ coast. Retrieved from

https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/news/2016/high-levels-of-microplastics-found-on-nz-coast.html

Casinader, J. (2018). New Zealand’s waste crisis: Five things you need to know. TVNZ1.

Retrieved from https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/new-zealands-waste-crisis-five-things-you-need-know

Ministry for the Environment. (2020). Reducing-impact-of-plastic-our-environment. Retrieved

from https://www.mfe.govt.nz/sites/default/files/media/Waste/Hard-to-recycle-plastics-summary-final.pdf

Ministry for the Environment. (1997). Waste generation and disposal in New Zealand. Retrieved

from https://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/environmental-reporting/waste-generation-and-disposal-new-zealand