Stay in the know with the Steering Committees

Written by WasteMINZ | 27 November 2024

WasteMINZ's sector group steering committees have run a comprehensive programme of webinars this year, as well as working hard on their workplans over the past few months in the lead up to the holiday period. The steering committees are also jointly working on feedback to the Ministry for the Environment on the review of the Waste Levy, as well as planning for the 2025 WasteMINZ conference.

Learn about the key projects from the individual steering committees below.

Behaviour Change

The Behaviour Change Steering Committee, in addition to their own work, is providing advice and expertise to other groups on their behaviour change programmes. This includes the construction waste working group and the battery working group.

The committee is also working on other projects to support behaviour change within the wider sector – so watch this space for some exciting opportunities in 2025. The committee is also planning for a small digital campaign in the lead up to the holiday period. A top priority for the group is advocating for the continued investment in behaviour change campaigns by the government.

Contaminated Land Management

The CLM steering committee and associated working groups have had an exceedingly busy quarter! The groups have:

Released the ‘Technical Guidelines: Characterising Surplus Soil for Disposal’ in September
Written an open letter to the Minister of Health, Minister of Education, and Minister for the Environment calling on the government to prevent lead poisoning specifically in Tamariki - as part of International Lead Poisoning Prevention week.
Written and published the white paper on the reuse of soils in New Zealand. This was sent with an accompanying letter to several government Ministers, calling on action in this area.
Formed the CLM conference working group to start work towards the 2025 conference.

Disposal to Land

The Disposal to Land steering committee has been exploring ways to raise awareness around PFAS and how to develop more guidance and tools to deal with PFAS in New Zealand. Steering committee member, Carole Smith, is writing an article on PFAS that will be published online by WasteMINZ. The topic continues to be of importance to the group, and features in their forward workplan. The steering committee is also providing feedback into MfE’s work to reduce emissions from landfills.

Health, Safety and Wellbeing

The Health, Safety and Wellbeing steering committee went through an election in September and are looking to co-opt a few additional members to round out the membership on the committee. The steering committee has two major pieces of work underway:

Review and restructure of the H&S guidelines. The group is identifying subject matter experts and getting them on board.
Phase out of the Kerbside Collector Training (KCTL) programme. This is underway, and all members should watch this space for updates in the new year.

Organic Materials

The Organic Materials steering committee is looking for opportunities to collaborate with other groups on issues relating to organics. The committee has undertaken a full review of its strategic plan and work plan and has finalised its plan for the 2025 year.

Product Stewardship

The Product Stewardship steering committee had an election in late September and a committee of 10 representatives was elected. The Product Stewardship steering committee members are involved in the Right to Repair Coalition, the Textile Advisory Group as well as the WasteMINZ Reuse working group. The steering committee will develop its workplan at the first meeting in December – but is keen to ensure that product stewardship schemes in New Zealand are continued to be progressed with well designed solutions taking a lifecycle approach.

Recycling & Resource Recovery

The Recycling and Resource Recovery steering committee has undertaken a recent environmental scan of research underway and issues that the sector is facing to identify issues to advocate and work on. An issue that is facing all industries in the sector is the need for policy direction around a Container Return Scheme (CRS), so the steering committee is working on an advocacy piece relating to the CRS. Planning is also underway for Global Recycling Day in March and some promotional events relating to the day. The construction waste working group has also been working on stakeholder mapping to support greater coordination across the sector.

Territorial Authority Officers’ Forum

The Territorial Authority Officers’ Forum steering committee had an election in late September and a committee of 8 representatives was nominated. The steering committee’s immediate focus has been on feedback to the Ministry for the Environment on the waste levy, and development of a workplan for 2025. Planning is also underway for the TAO forum session at the WasteMINZ conference.

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