Common sense survey debunks deposit charge support

10th July 2007

NEWS RELEASE

Packaging Council welcomes common sense survey debunking the myth that most New Zealanders want a container deposit charge

The first major poll on people’s attitudes to container deposit taxes conducted by the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development shows that New Zealanders are well able to balance emotional arguments with financial common sense says Paul Curtis, Executive Director of the Packaging Council:

“This poll shows clearly that initial support for a container deposit charge disappears when people are asked to pay for it. That 84% people prefer using kerbside and more bins in public places rather than paying an extra charge is no surprise because they are already paying through their rates for a comprehensive system of recycling with 95% of people having access to recycling facilities. The business community supports the Government’s preference for voluntary product stewardship because it makes good commercial sense and we hope that other parties considering the Green Party’s Waste Minimisation (Solids) Bill take notice because there has been so much emotive lobbying for container deposits that it is easy for politicians to be persuaded that this is what people really want.”

Last year the Packaging Council commissioned independent research [www.packaging.org.nz] to assess the costs of container deposits. The net impact of introducing a mandatory beverage container deposit system in New Zealand could cost up to $121 million per annum.

Mr Curtis said that even the proponents of container deposits concur that the costs would be in the millions of dollars but they believe that these costs would fall elsewhere:

“Supporters say that costs would be borne by the brand owners and retailers. But everyone knows there is no such thing as a free lunch and if producers have to pay they will have to pass on the costs to shoppers. That’s how the economy works.”

“This survey shows that New Zealanders recognise that running two competing systems in parallel does not make sense when 77% of our councils already provide a household kerbside collection, which is by far the cheapest option targeting a wider range of materials than just beverage containers.”

The Packaging Council agrees with the majority (59%) of survey respondents that believe the best solution is kerbside collection and more public place recycling bins.

“We signed up 3 years ago to a voluntary product stewardship programme called the Packaging Accord along with local and central government and the Recycling Operators of New Zealand. The retailer’s plastic bag reduction campaign; the glass sector’s investment in a mobile glass crusher and the quality of the entries in our 2007 Environmental Packaging Awards all demonstrate how motivated industry is to make a voluntary system work.”

“We will meet and where possible exceed the recycling targets agreed to in this Accord and the way to do this is through continually improving kerbside collections and by offering better public place recycling facilities to make it easier for people to recycle when they are out and about. The Government has already made this a priority and we support their determination to see recycling at all major events.”

Mr Curtis said that the recent decision to bring a state of the art Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) to the Auckland region with a similar facility to be developed in Christchurch as well the MRF which has been operating for almost a year in Timaru, shows the commitment which local government has to improving recycling through investment in modern technology.

ENDS

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