Get to zero waste

A shared mission

Zero waste is about giving households and businesses an alternative to a throwaway economy. We already know what’s needed to make the shift to a more resourceful one.

Communities and businesses are working hard to innovate and develop practical zero waste and circular models but this bottom up change needs to be better supported by the government so it can really get traction and become the norm. At the moment most of the tools that the government could use to change the system have been left in the box.

Zero waste challenges us all to face up to the real impacts of our day to day consumption habits and the ways we do business. That can be confronting.

Most of the things and a lot of the food we buy comes from overseas. That means other people and their places bear the brunt of the ecosystem damage and health effects caused by careless extraction and production. The labels on our products can leave us blind to this or greenwash our concerns away.

Zero waste gives us a roadmap for a better way of life, where we work together to protect people and places from harm, look after resources and set things up so that everyone has enough.

Most of the things and a lot of the food we buy comes from overseas. That means other people and their places bear the brunt of the ecosystem damage and health effects caused by careless extraction and production. The labels on our products can leave us blind to this or greenwash our concerns away.

Zero waste gives us a roadmap for a better way of life, where we work together to protect people and places from harm, look after resources and set things up so that everyone has enough.

Everything is connected

In the real world you can’t separate economy, society and environment - they are all connected. The ways we make a living and produce the things we need, have to fit within social and environmental limits if we want to leave the next generations with better opportunities and a safe, healthy planet.

There are echoes in zero waste and circular systems of te ao māori worldview which recognises and values interconnection. Whakapapa puts our attention on where things come from and where they will end up. When our land is healthy, our people are healthy - He oranga taiao, he oranga tangata.

Rules of engagement

New Zealand is falling further and further behind. Our government is not putting in place the laws and regulations that are being used in other countries to tackle waste, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Progress on this has ground to halt in the last three years.

The Waste Minimisation Act 2008 needs to be updated ASAP so that the Government has the powers it needs to make producers more responsible for the products and packaging they put onto the market as well as to set the standards and run the compliance, monitoring and enforcement systems that keep us all safe from harm.

Design is everything

Whether something can be reused, repaired or safely recycled is decided at the design stage. Good design gets the best value across the whole lifecycle from the resources and energy used to make buildings, products and packaging.

Getting nationwide reuse and repair systems up and running is a priority. Local reuse models for food and drink packaging are achieving great results, but the government has to set up a strong national framework for them to become the norm. Safe, closed loop recycling is worth doing, but it should be the last resort. Even the best collection system can’t solve problems that were created by poor design.

Community-led and Māori solutions

Community and Māori have been leading the way on zero waste and circular approaches, by building this into their operating models. The big contracts often go to big national and international companies and there is a missed opportunity to build out small to medium scale local systems for repair, reuse, recycling, product takeback and composting.

Successful models exist across Aotearoa that can be scaled out and copied in other communities. Development of the nationwide resource recovery network, product stewardship schemes and the container deposit return scheme need to build on these local hubs and create opportunities for them to grow.

Kai security, food resilience

Covid lock downs, the cost of living and price increases have been a wake up call for most of us around kai security and food resilience. For māori land, water, food networks and the right to grow and share healthy food lie at the heart of kai sovereignty.

Composting your food scraps and garden waste makes a lot more sense when it’s turning back into soil to grow the next round of safe, healthy food. Aotearoa food rescue organisations heavily subsidise their work from other income and donations. The government and the supermarkets need to get behind them and properly fund their valuable services.

Red lines matter

Products and packaging often contain harmful chemicals. We don’t even know they are in there. Better labelling would show us what contains heavy metals, volatile compounds, PFAS chemicals, endocrine disruptors and environmental pollutants. The most toxic substances harming our health and our ecosystems need to be banned.

Burning everything we throw away destroys resources and releases greenhouse gases and toxics. Incinerators and waste-to-energy plants that burn rubbish create more problems than they solve. We can’t afford to invest in industries that cause harm. Everything that can be safely reused, recycled or composted needs to be separated out and the rest can be designed out of the economy.