Hon David Benson-Pope
- 7/03/2007 - Environment Minister, David
Benson-Pope says virtually all plastic packaging
used in New Zealand should be recyclable
and the Government will be working with
local government and industry to stop it
being dumped into landfills.
"Individual New Zealanders and many
councils have embraced the recycling concept
and are doing a fantastic job in reducing
the amount of waste," said Mr Benson-Pope.
The Minister is today visiting four of
the country's biggest recycling facilities
in Auckland, covering glass, plastic, paper
and metal.
One of them, Streetsmart, is New Zealand's
largest kerbside recycling processor and
now collects all plastic containers marked
with the codes one to seven.
"I applaud Auckland and Manukau city
councils for moving towards the collection
of all coded plastics but this is a rarity
in New Zealand, whereas most councils only
collect plastics coded one and two.
"We need national consistency if we
are to significantly reduce the 3.2 million
tonnes of waste that go into landfills each
year.
"New Zealand's continued clean, green
identity is dependant on us all embracing
the concepts of sustainability, of which
recycling and product stewardship are vital
components.
"Some communities are showing the
way and the Prime Minister just last month
opened a new recycling facility in Palmerston
North, where they are trialling a 'one bin,
three tray' recycling system," said
Mr Benson-Pope.
"I have called a meeting with Local
Government New Zealand to make further progress
on recycling issues, including how councils
can recycle all coded plastics. I will also
be briefing them on new initiatives including
a network of public recycling stations,
a waste levy to fund projects and product
stewardship."
