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The management of waste in New Zealand has become more regulated to reduce associated environmental issues. According to OECD data, New Zealand is the third most wasteful country in the OECD. [1]
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The management of waste in New Zealand has become more regulated to reduce associated environmental issues. According to OECD data, New Zealand is the third most wasteful country in the OECD. [1]
Until recently, waste was taken to local rubbish dumps with little or no control as to where they were sited. Often the dumps were close to water ways. In recent years the location of dumps was consolidated and they are now constructed as sanitary landfills to prevent leaching of the contents into water bodies. Transfer stations, especially in cities, act as a local collection point where the waste is compacted before being transported to the nearest landfill.
In 2007 the OECD Environmental Performance Reviews for waste gave the following recommendations: [2]
1.6 million tonnes per year is generated from the construction and demolition industry which represents 50% of total waste to landfills. [3]
Waste volumes from kerbside collections was almost 40,000 tonnes but reduced after the introduction of kerbside recycling and a halving in the number of free rubbish bags. In 2009 the Council introduced 140 litre wheelie bins for kerbside collection after which waste volumes began to rise. [4]
Agriculture is one of the largest sectors of the economy in New Zealand and consequently a large volume of waste is produced in relation to other industries. Collection of containers that contained agricultural chemicals is carried out in some regions. The burning of plastic waste was made illegal in recent years due to the release of toxic pollutants.
Electronic waste is an increasing part of the waste stream and the Ministry for the Environment are investigating ways of dealing with it. The annual eDay, which started from a trial in 2006, is used as means of collecting electronic waste for reuse or recycling.
The total volume of food wasted in New Zealand is not known. Research was conducted in 2014 into food waste, generated by households, that was disposed of through curbside rubbish collections. The study found that 229,022 tonnes of food is sent to landfill by households annually. Of this approximately 50% or 122,547 tonnes is avoidable food waste. The cost of avoidable household food waste disposed of to landfill in 2014/2105 was $872 million pa. A detailed report available on the WasteMINZ website provides more information into household food waste. No research has been undertaken to date into commercial or supply chain food waste. [5]
By 1996 the New Zealand cities of Auckland, Waitakere, North Shore and Lower Hutt had kerbside recycling bins available. In New Plymouth, Wanganui and Upper Hutt recyclable material was collected if placed in suitable bags. [6] By 2007 73% of New Zealanders had access to kerbside recycling. [7]
Kerbside collection of organic waste is carried out by the Mackenzie District Council [8] and the Timaru District Council. Christchurch City Council has introduced an organic waste collection system as part of kerbside recycling. Other councils are carrying out trials. [8]
Recently, there has been a rise in interest for waste-to-energy incineration, where waste is turned into energy for communities to use. [9] [10] However, research has found that this method could create more environmental issues, with 1.2 tonnes of CO2 being produced for every waste tonne. [11] Plastic pollution researcher Trisia Farrelly recommends that this is a wasteful technique which "destroys valuable resources and perpetuates waste generation". [12]
New Zealand is a signatory to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships, 1973 as modified by the Protocol of 1978, commonly known as MARPOL.
The Green Party tabled a Waste Minimisation Bill in 2006. It passed into law in 2008 as the Waste Minimisation Act. The major provisions of the Act are: a levy on landfill waste, promoting product stewardship schemes, some mandatory waste reporting, clarifies the role of territorial authorities with respect to waste minimisation, and sets up a Waste Advisory Board. [13]
The number of landfills in New Zealand is reducing. In 1995 there were 327 and 115 in 2002 with recent estimates placing the number at less than 100. [14] Notable landfills are located at:
Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitoring and regulation of the waste management process and waste-related laws, technologies, and economic mechanisms.
Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. "Garbage" can also refer specifically to food waste, as in a garbage disposal; the two are sometimes collected separately. In the European Union, the semantic definition is 'mixed municipal waste,' given waste code 20 03 01 in the European Waste Catalog. Although the waste may originate from a number of sources that has nothing to do with a municipality, the traditional role of municipalities in collecting and managing these kinds of waste have produced the particular etymology 'municipal.'
National Environment Agency (NEA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment of the Government of Singapore.
Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity and/or heat from the primary treatment of waste, or the processing of waste into a fuel source. WtE is a form of energy recovery. Most WtE processes generate electricity and/or heat directly through combustion, or produce a combustible fuel commodity, such as methane, methanol, ethanol or synthetic fuels, often derived from the product syngas.
A mechanical biological treatment (MBT) system is a type of waste processing facility that combines a sorting facility with a form of biological treatment such as composting or anaerobic digestion. MBT plants are designed to process mixed household waste as well as commercial and industrial wastes.
Kerbside collection or curbside collection is a service provided to households, typically in urban and suburban areas, of collecting and disposing of household waste and recyclables. It is usually accomplished by personnel using specially built vehicles to pick up household waste in containers that are acceptable to, or prescribed by, the municipality and are placed on the kerb.
In 2015, 43.5% of the United Kingdom's municipal waste was recycled, composted or broken down by anaerobic digestion. The majority of recycling undertaken in the United Kingdom is done by statutory authorities, although commercial and industrial waste is chiefly processed by private companies. Local Authorities are responsible for the collection of municipal waste and operate contracts which are usually kerbside collection schemes. The Household Waste Recycling Act 2003 required local authorities in England to provide every household with a separate collection of at least two types of recyclable materials by 2010. Recycling policy is devolved to the administrations of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales who set their own targets, but all statistics are reported to Eurostat.
This is a glossary of environmental science.
Waste management in Japan today emphasizes not just the efficient and sanitary collection of waste, but also reduction in waste produced and recycling of waste when possible. This has been influenced by its history, particularly periods of significant economic expansion, as well as its geography as a mountainous country with limited space for landfills. Important forms of waste disposal include incineration, recycling and, to a smaller extent, landfills and land reclamation. Although Japan has made progress since the 1990s in reducing waste produced and encouraging recycling, there is still further progress to be made in reducing reliance on incinerators and the garbage sent to landfills. Challenges also exist in the processing of electronic waste and debris left after natural disasters.
Waste are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste product may become a by-product, joint product or resource through an invention that raises a waste product's value above zero.
Food wasteinNew Zealand is one of the many environmental issues that is being addressed by industry, individuals and government.
Electronic waste in New Zealand is an environmental issue being addressed by community and government initiatives.
Food waste recycling is a process to convert food waste into useful materials and products for achieving sustainability of the environment. Food waste is defined as all parts of food, inedible and edible, created before, during, and after food processing, production, and consumption. Greenhouse gases, especially methane can be reduced by food waste recycling. Food waste recycling can also alleviate the saturation of landfill sites in Hong Kong.
Recycling in Australia is a widespread, and comprehensive part of waste management in Australia, with 60% of all waste collected being recycled. Recycling is collected from households, commercial businesses, industries and construction. Despite its prominence, household recycling makes up only a small part (13%) of Australia's total recycling. It generally occurs through kerbside recycling collections such as the commingled recycling bin and food/garden organics recycling bin, drop-off and take-back programs, and various other schemes. Collection and management of household recycling typically falls to local councils, with private contractors collecting commercial, industrial and construction recycling. In addition to local council regulations, legislation and overarching policies are implemented and managed by the state and federal governments.
Data from the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp) collected from January to November throughout 2018 puts the national recycling rate at 0.06%, or about 1,800 tonnes of the 3 million tonnes of waste collected in the period. Majority of the waste were sent to landfills.
South Korean waste disposal policy operates under the Ministry of Environment. Waste is required to be separated into four parts: landfill waste, organic waste, recyclable waste, and large waste items. Recyclable waste such as: paper, plastics and glass, should be separated before disposal. Fines are applicable to violations of the policy.
Waste management in Australia started to be implemented as a modern system by the second half of the 19th century, with its progresses driven by technological and sanitary advances. It is currently regulated at both federal and state level. The Commonwealth's Department of the Environment and Energy is responsible for the national legislative framework.
The Sfax Waste To Methane Gas Project is a proposed plant to convert solid waste into methane gas, by the facilitation of anaerobic digestion of organic waste in a new plant in Sfax, Tunisia's second-largest city. The estimated 1,900,000 cubic meters (1.9×109 L) of methane from the future waste-to-energy plant is expected to fuel a fleet of 800 automobile taxis every year. The project is a joint venture between four Tunisian government entities; (a) the City of Sfax (COS) (b) the National Oil Distribution Company (AGIL) (c) the National Agency for Energy Management (ANME) and the Commissariat à l’énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA-PRO).
Trisia Angela Farrelly, also known as Trisia Prince, is a New Zealand social anthropologist, and is a full professor at Massey University, specialising in plastic reduction and pollution, and campaigning against excessive and hazardous plastics production.
