Nick Smith18
June, 2010
Environment Minister Nick Smith today signed
the Environmental Accord between the Crown
and Waikato-Tainui as part of the Waikato
River Settlement.
"This Accord is
setting in place the mechanics of making
the settlement work and to build the long-term
relationships to ensure effective management
of the river for the future," Dr Smith
said.
Dr Smith also advised that the Waikato River
Independent Scoping Study, being undertaken
by NIWA and due to have been completed by
June, had been delayed and this would put
back the implementation of the Waikato River
Authority by a couple of months.
"I am disappointed
by this delay but I'm confident in working
with the Guardians Establishment Committee
and Waikato-Tainui that this will not weaken
the strong Treaty relationship built with
Waikato-Tainui. We've agreed to extend the
Guardians role to cover the delay and will
next month be finalising the appointments
to the Waikato River Authority.
"Cleaning up the
river in partnership with Waikato-Tainui
is at the core of the settlement. The river's
problems are decades in the making, so it
is important to get the scoping study right
- even if it takes slightly longer than
anticipated.
"The Accord and
scoping study are nationally significant
because they will guide the most comprehensive
environmental restoration programme in New
Zealand history between the Crown and iwi
to restore the health and wellbeing of an
asset important to all New Zealanders."
+ More
Government backs farm
recycling scheme
Nick Smith16 June, 2010
Farmers are being encouraged to recycle
and reuse rather than burn or bury thousands
of tonnes plastic waste under a new scheme
launched by the Government today.
"It is neither
clean nor green that over 7,000 tonnes of
plastic farm waste, mainly used bale wrap,
is currently burnt, buried or left to litter
the countryside. We want to work with farmers
and their supply industries to develop a
nationwide recycling scheme that will enable
this waste to be collected, reused and recycled",
Dr Smith announced at the National Agriculture
Fieldays in Hamilton.
"We have accredited
Plasback as one of the first product stewardship
schemes under the Waste Minimisation Act
2008. We are today announcing a $130,000
grant from the Government's Waste Minimisation
Fund to support a nationwide campaign to
encourage farms to become part of this nationwide
recycling scheme."
"Plasback is an
innovative scheme that enables the collection
of bale wrap, agrichemical containers and
other packaging waste from farms and enables
it to be recycled into new products such
as piping and bins at a plant in Christchurch.
This funding will help provide an information
campaign to farms so the scheme can grow
rapidly, with the aim of recycling over
2400 tonnes of waste plastic per year by
June 2011."
"Many farms are
frustrated by the lack of options for dealing
with plastic farm waste and know that burning
or burying waste is not a sustainable solution.
Burning is particularly damaging because
of the toxic chemicals it releases into
the atmosphere. This voluntary scheme is
about getting alongside farms and providing
an environmentally friendly alternative."
This grant is the very
first made under the new Act and Waste Minimisation
Fund. Further consideration is being given
to the other 163 applications with announcements
due in coming months.
