The national Zero Waste Summit in Wellington on 18-20 November will zero in on practical solutions to waste, plastic pollution and wider ecological crises.

A public event on Monday night, Zero Waste Solutions to Planetary Crises, will be facilitated by veteran broadcaster, Kim Hill.

It will feature two panels with experts and politicians speaking to a range of promising zero waste solutions. These include Bottle Deposits, Product Stewardship, the Right to Repair, using organic waste to restore degraded soils, and a Global Plastics Treaty. False solutions such as incineration, that we must avoid will also be discussed.

MPs from across the political spectrum will get a chance to respond to the information raised by the panel of experts and to outline their policy positions. This public event has been organised in collaboration with the Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance thanks to the support of Re.Group.

“We all know we need to reduce waste. But it's the upstream impacts of overconsumption that are the most critical right now: climate change, ecosystem damage, biodiversity loss, pollution and human health impacts.” says Sue Coutts from the Zero Waste Network.

“To fix these problems we need to go up the supply chains and to put in place practical policies that solve our waste problems for once and for all. This will be the focus of discussions at the summit and we will be looking to our political leaders to implement some real solutions.”

The Summit is hosted by the Zero Waste Network Aotearoa. This three day event includes keynotes, panel discussions, and site tours exploring all aspects of zero waste from source reduction and redesign, to repair, recovery, repurposing and recycling. Special thanks to Rothbury Insurance and Wellington City Council for their sponsorship of the Summit.

“People working on zero waste projects across the country will come together at the Summit to talk about the challenges, the practical solutions we are already delivering, and what we can all do to significantly expand our impacts.”

“We’ll also be walking the talk, with all catering being provided according to zero waste practices, by local businesses and organisations thanks to the support of Reuse Aotearoa who are sponsoring the zero waste catering during summit day sessions.

Panel discussions will consider social and economic dimensions, including social justice, sustainable financing for zero waste business models, the growth of zero waste towns, cities and regions, and practical tools and strategies for ensuring the wellbeing of those who work at the frontlines of resource recovery.

More about us and our sponsors

The Zero Waste Network is a membership organisation with 120+ members across the country who work towards Zero Waste with their local communities, providing practical resource recovery and behaviour change services. One of these members is Para Kore which is a network in its own right. Our members employ 1,239 people who work in resource recovery and environmental education. Collectively we recover 29,000 tonnes of material each year and feed $88 million dollars back into local economies through our enterprises.

Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance is a collaborative forum of researchers, educators, artists, activists and community leaders working to prevent plastic pollution in Aotearoa, Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa, and beyond.

Reuse Aotearoa is an organisation dedicated to building the momentum to grow and strengthen reusable packaging systems in New Zealand, through evidence-based research, advice and workshops.

Wellington City Council are working to implement their zero waste strategy

Re.Group are a recycling and resource recovery company specialised in designing, managing and operating resource recovery facilities and systems for a waste less society.

Rothbury Insurance helps protect the assets of over 53,000 Kiwis and businesses, from Cape Reinga to Bluff.

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