LGNZ is encouraged by the announcement of a national plan to address New Zealand’s growing recycling issues, citing the need for more detailed work to truly deliver a sustainable circular economy.

Unveiled today at LGNZ’s offices by Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage, the plan is based on eight recommendations from the National Resource Recovery Taskforce set up last year, including to improve kerbside and commercial recycling, reduce contamination of recyclables and increase onshore processing of plastics and other materials.

“Feedback from our communities makes it clear that recycling is a one of the most important issues for them, and councils have been working to improve collection and education around recycling,” says LGNZ National Council member and Mayor of Wellington City Justin Lester.

“New Zealand’s small population has traditionally meant that onshore recycling hasn’t made economic sense, and we have employed the technology and scale of other countries to assist with this. Those markets are now closed to us, which means it’s time to manage our plastic recycling onshore.”

“That why LGNZ welcome this report as an important first step”

“The recommendations make it clear that we need to work together as a collective to develop recycling and design solutions that lead to a more circular and waste efficient economy. But we need to work carefully through the detail to ensure that waste producers face the true costs from their activities in order to change behaviour. We won’t get this outcome if we subsidise these costs across the broader ratepayer base.”

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