Press Release It's a blue - green Earth Day in 2009

April 21 2009

It's a blue day for all the people that thought the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 was going to help reduce the amount of waste we produce.

The Government's discussion document, which outlines how key elements of the Act will be put into practice, proposes that only 3 products become priorities; agricultural chemicals, used oil and refrigerant gases. The provisions of the bill enable enforcement of product stewardship schemes for priority products. Product stewardship is a concept where everyone involved in the lifespan of the product is called upon to take up responsibility to reduce its environmental impact." The Ministry for the Environment has been working on these three products for years and GetReal says it is hardly cutting edge to make them the top 3 on the list. All of these products have voluntary product stewardship schemes in place now.

"The Product Stewardship provisions in the Act are vital" said GetReal Campaigner Sue Coutts "Out of hundreds of products that go to waste every day, the government has chosen just 3 to go forward onto the priority product list." "It is hugely disappointing to all the people that put time and energy into seeing the original bill become law. I would have expected to see up to a wider range of products and a focus on reducing waste." said Sue Coutts.

Packaging shows up fifth on the list in the discussion document and the GetReal team are launching their latest campaign on Earth Day, April 22nd. The aim is to get packaging back onto the priority products list. The public have until May 15th to have their say and the GetReal team is urging people to stand up and be counted.

Cliff Colquhoun Community Recycling Network spokesperson says "There are obvious issues with the way we handle packaging recovery now. Some recycling systems produce low quality product and with the credit crunch, recycling costs have increased. It’s hard for consumers to tell the difference between real environmentally friendly packaging and green washed ones." The GetReal team agrees with National's blue-green policy which states that 'to reduce waste, we need stronger national leadership and businesses and communities need the right incentives'. However GetReal is concerned that National is continuing with its weak approach to sustainability. "Anyone who thinks we can build a strong economy on a degraded and undervalued environment is still living in the 20th century." GetReal Director Gwilym Griffith-Jones said.

GetReal is challenging Dr Smith as Minister for the Environment to start taking his role seriously, to step up to the plate and to put packaging back on the priority products list where it belongs.

ENDS

About Get Real: GetReal was set up by a bunch of passionate Kiwis who care about good design and waste reduction.

Why are we campaigning about this?

Product stewardship is an effective tool that can bring benefits to all the people in the supply chain. It needs strong leadership to work. We think our government should be providing some.

More information about GetReal and this campaign is available on our website www.getreal.org.nz More information on the issues can be found at; www.communityrecyclers.org.nz Consultation document MfE - set of suggestions and request for feedback - http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/waste/waste-minimisation-discussion-document/index.html Nationals blue-green environmental policy p27 - http://www.bluegreens.org.nz/discussion.html NZ Waste Strategy - Government policy on Waste - http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/waste/waste-strategy-mar02/ Waste Act 2008 - Legislation developed to back up policy - http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2008/0089/latest/DLM999802.html

ENDS

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