In late October the NZ Paper Forum and the NZ Paperboard Packaging Association made a joint submission on the Standing Order Paper (SOP) of the Waste Minimisation Bill to the Parliamentary Select Committee.

The SOP recommended a number of changes to the original Bill, with many of these in line with the first submission made earlier this year. The NZ Paper Forum and NZPPA strongly support voluntary solutions for waste reduction such as the Packaging Accord, take-back schemes and extended producer responsibility initiatives.

The latest submission stresses the need for dealing with a number of issues still outstanding.

These include:

• a clear definition of waste
• that any Product Stewardship Schemes only be declared by the Minister after full consultation and a full cost benefit analysis has been completed
• that the Minister does not have the power to prohibit the importation and/or sale of certain products
• that local Authorities' power to make by-laws be subjected to full consultation
• that the new Waste Authority Board has industry membership

For more information please email ashley.chisholm@printnz.co.nz