Below are a few te reo Māori kupu that relate to recycling and packaging. For the full list, including other types of waste, see the WasteMinz website.

Bags & Wrap – Pēke, Tākai

Bottles & Jars – Pātara, Ipu Karaehe (glass containers)

Cans – Kēne

Cardboard – Kāri Mārō

Clear – Kōataata

Containers – Ipu

Drink – Inu

Food Scraps – Para Kai

Food Scraps & Compostable Packaging – Para Kai, Tākai Pōpopo

Furniture – Taputapu whare

Garden Cuttings – Tapahanga Māra, Tapahitanga Māra

Glass – Karaehe Karāhe, Kōata

Landfill – Ruapara

Milk Bottles – Pātara Miraka

Paper – Pepa

Plastic – Kirihou

Polystyrene – Kirihou Kōmāmā

Recycling – Hangarua, Hakarua is Ngāi Tahu dialect for Hangarua

Reuse – Whakamahia Anō

Rubbish – Para, Rāpihi

Shopping Bags – Pēke Hokohoko

Soft Plastic – Kirihou Ngohengohe

However, the Forum’s Independent Chair Rob Langford cautions that great care must be taken to avoid any unintended consequences caused by producers and retailers moving to other packaging types such as a mass shift to compostable packaging without standards, labelling and end-of-life solutions being in place.

The Forum was reacting to the announcement by Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage today (12 August) that consultation would begin on the phase-out of a number of plastic products, such as straws, PVC food and beverage packaging, plastic tableware, and plastic cotton-buds among others.
Consultation would run until 4 November 2020.

“It’s good to see there is a long consultation period for this and we’ll certainly be part of the conversation on behalf of our members,” Rob says. The Packaging Forum, with more than 200 members, is New Zealand’s biggest member-based organisation representing the depth and breadth of the packaging industry.

While compostable packaging can be viewed by the public as something of a ‘silver bullet’, Rob warns there are also challenges with it. “For manufacturers, there is no defined use-case for compostable packaging.

“There is no New Zealand standard as required by the organic certified composters and few commercial composters which will accept it due to contamination, and there are varying requirements for home compostability. This makes it difficult for consumers to identify how to dispose of it at end of life.”

To assist members, the Forum has a compostable packaging and a fibre-based packaging technical advisory group which is investigating solutions for these challenges to remove the barriers for compostable packaging across the supply chain, Rob says.

“We welcome the opportunity to submit during the consultation period. Our members will be able to offer their knowledge and know-how to help ensure we have the best possible outcome.”

Business isn’t known for welcoming government regulation, but the news that plastic packaging will be regulated is cause for celebration by all of us who care about our impact on our environment.

That includes businesses already contributing to better environmental outcomes for their packaging and shouldering the cost through voluntary stewardship schemes. Regulation allows for the removal of ‘free-riders’ – businesses which have previously not participated.

Now all Importers, manufactures and brand owners whose goods use plastic packaging will have to contribute to schemes that address its environmental impact. So work begins designing what effective regulated product stewardship looks like in New Zealand. The Packaging Forum members are up for the challenge.

Where packaging already has a voluntary stewardship scheme, (such as The Packaging Forum’s Soft Plastic scheme), they can work to transition to a regulated model. With everyone on board, the opportunity to scale up the impact with more comprehensive solutions is exciting. For packaging types where no scheme exists (e.g. rigid plastic packaging), they will have to be designed.

We are looking forward to working on behalf of our members with the Ministry for the Environment, local government, the resource recovery sector and key community and industry groups on scheme co-design.

I believe there are clear criteria that contribute to success for a product stewardship scheme.

Whole of life cycle, circular approach

The most successful schemes don’t just deal with end-of-life solutions and aren’t just collection systems. They have whole life cycle approach. They encourage product design that removes unnecessary packaging and promotes materials which have a higher recycling value. Other aspects of the life cycle they can address are effective collection, processing infrastructure and demand for material with a high recycled content. In some cases, reusable or refillable packaging may be part of the answer.

Our Soft Plastic Recycling scheme highlights the importance of this approach. When popularity with consumers and collections quickly outgrew processing capacity, the scheme had to be temporarily suspended. New processors were found onshore who worked to develop end markets for their recycled products. The scheme is now back up and running in 74 locations across the North Island, and looking to expand further as new processing capacity develops.

Business led

Regulation simply sets the scene for solutions. Business will provide the mechanisms, infrastructure and innovation for them to be carried out. Business must lead the co-design of schemes in collaboration with local and national government, the resource recovery sector and key community groups.

Our Glass Packaging Forum scheme has shown that collaboration with key stakeholders for investment in pragmatic solutions can have a big impact. Our grant funding to bolster efficiencies in the South Island saw over 340% growth in the volume of glass returned for recycling through one processor alone between 2017 and 2019. It’s investment like this that has helped it reach a recovery rate of over 70% of container glass for recycling and reuse.

Easy for consumers

While there will always be people who choose not to recycle, the more convenient it is, the more likely they are to do it. Whether it’s access to kerbside recycling, clear and useful recyclability labelling, or colour-coded recycling bins in public places, consumer engagement is a must-have in any stewardship scheme.

Onshore solutions

We’ve seen what happens when there is too much reliance on overseas recyclables markets. A lack of onshore capacity left New Zealand and much of the world exposed and sending recyclables to landfill when other countries effectively shut the door. Taking responsibility for our own packaging onshore isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s an investment in employment opportunities and New Zealand’s economic resilience.

The right packaging choices protect our food, our goods, and us. Now we have an opportunity for those choices to keep our environment safer from harm too.