Sales & Marketing

05 May 2009

Product Stewardship under the Waste Minimisation Act – Will it apply to you?

Since the Waste Minimisation Act (Act) came into force in September 2008, the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) has begun the process of implementing the Act, starting with a focus on product stewardship. Step one in this process is to determine what products should be declared "priority products" due to their potential environmental impact and then require potentially costly and mandatory product stewardship schemes to be developed to reduce the environmental impact of those products.

In this FYI, we explore how the product stewardship requirements under the Act may impact your business and how you can have your say on them.

Product Stewardship

First, we revisit what product stewardship is (see our FYI of May 2008 for further details).

Product stewardship is a "cradle to grave" tool to help reduce the environmental impact of manufactured products by requiring those involved in the design, production, distribution, purchase and disposal of a product to be responsible for the environmental impact of the products.

The Act sets out a procedure for accreditation of both mandatory and voluntary product stewardship schemes.

Where a product is declared a "priority product", producers (and others) must develop a mandatory product stewardship scheme. The Minister must not declare a product to be a priority product unless he or she is satisfied that its waste will or may cause significant environmental harm, or there are significant benefits from the waste minimisation or treatment of the product.

Once a scheme is developed, those involved in the scheme must then obtain accreditation of that scheme from MfE. The accreditation requirements are described in the Act, but basically require a description of: the scope of the scheme - products covered; measurable and time bound targets for waste minimisation, treatment or disposal; list of scheme participants; provide for assessing and reporting on performance; and set out how information will be provided to purchasers and users.

Voluntary product stewardship schemes are also able to be accredited for products not yet declared priority products. For a scheme to be accredited the MfE must be satisfied that the scheme is likely to promote waste minimisation or reduce environment harm, or, both.

Implementation

Implementation of the Act is a priority for 2009 and MfE have started the year by:

• publishing a discussion document entitled "Waste Minimisation in New Zealand - a discussion document from the Ministry for the Environment" (Discussion Document); and
• holding a series of public consultation meetings.

Discussion Document

Part 2 of the Discussion Document focuses on implementing the product stewardship part of the Act, specifically by considering what products should be priority products.

The Discussion Document identifies three types of product that the MfE proposes should be investigated to see if a mandatory product stewardship scheme is warranted:

• agricultural chemicals;
• used oil; and
• refrigerant gases.

The MfE's rationale for this initial list is that they perceive these products can cause significant environmental harm when they are disposed of.

The Discussion Document also lists a number of "other products" which the MfE flags as potential candidates for priority products:

• computers, computer accessories, televisions
• packaging
• mercury containing lamps
• lead acid batteries
• mobile phones
• paint
• plasterboard
• tyres

The MfE states in the Discussion Document that they will "monitor the effectiveness of any voluntary scheme for the first two-to-three years of its operation and assess whether further action is required" in respect of these "other products". So, if you manufacture, produce or sell any of these "other products" you could be forgiven for thinking that you can sit back and wait for the next two or three years. WRONG.

Meetings with MfE

We have met with representatives of MfE and we have also attended one of the public consultation meetings run by MfE.

The most important insight from attending these meetings is that the list of potential priority products is far from settled. The list of three products put forward by MfE in the Discussion Document is a proposal simply put forward to open dialogue with business. So, if you are a manufacturer, producer or seller of any of these "other products", you cannot simply sit back and wait and see how the Act plays out in respect of agricultural chemicals, used oil and refrigerant gases. Your product could conceivably make its way to the top of the list of potential priority products following public feedback.

What can you do?

MfE are seeking submissions on:

• what products should be priority products and therefore be subject to mandatory product stewardship schemes;
• what costs your business or industry may face if mandatory product stewardship schemes are developed and implemented; and
• what benefits may arise from product stewardship of specific products.

In this current economic climate, can you afford not to make a submission on a matter that has the potential to add significant cost to your business? Will your competitors wait and see what happens with their products, or will they instead make submissions that other products (like yours) have a greater environmental impact and should therefore be a priority product?

We recommend you take this opportunity to make submissions to MfE to ensure they are well informed about your products and the potential impact a mandatory product stewardship scheme may have on your business or industry. Submissions close at 5.00pm on Friday 15 May 2009. If you need help in drafting submissions or require further information on the Act please contact us.

Authors

Peter Stubbs

Partner - Corporate & Commercial

DDI: +64 9 977 5010

Mobile: +64 21 955 230

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Gwendoline Keel

Senior Associate - Corporate & Commercial

DDI: +64 9 977 5201

Mobile: +64 21 242 6639

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Craig Nelson

Senior Associate - Corporate & Commercial

DDI: +64 9 977 5185

Mobile: +64 21 918 309

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