The initiatives that the government are introducing:
a new waste strategy to set New Zealand's direction on waste for the next three decades
new and more comprehensive waste legislation
improved household recycling and food scrap collections, making it easier for people to recycle and divert food scraps from landfills.
To support a low-emissions, low-waste circular economy, they are introducing three main changes:
From February 2024, councils across Aotearoa will accept the same materials in their household collections.
By 2027, recycling collections will be available to households in all urban areas.
By 2030, food scraps collections will be available to households in all urban areas.
They are also introducing minimum standards for councils to divert waste from landfill, and requiring waste companies to collect and report more of their waste data. Revenue from the expanded waste levy will support the roll out of these changes.
As well as providing households with food scrap collections, they are looking to get businesses ready to separate food scraps from general waste by 2030.