As Plastic Free July approaches, the Ministry for the Environment is indicating that the long-awaited third phase of plastics phase-outs has been put on hold. Even if the government decides to go ahead with them again, the start date has been postponed by at least another year, to mid-2026.

The delay will result in the dumping of millions more plastic items into the environment, and the ongoing contamination of high-quality recycling from our kerbside collections. The regulations were due to come into effect in mid-2025.

“These changes have been on the cards for more than three years already. It’s hard to understand why the Government is dithering around over this. Will we or won’t we flip-flopping creates uncertainty for business,” says Sue Coutts of the Zero Waste Network Aotearoa.

“There are good reasons why these PVC and polystyrene packaging products were put onto the phase out list in the first place. They are hard-to-recycle and contaminate quality recycling streams ending up as litter or rubbish.”

“The machines that help to sort our household recycling cannot differentiate between these non-recyclable plastics and the 1, 2 and 5s we are recycling, contributing to contamination of our recycling efforts.”

“The phase out has been in the works for years with many businesses and retailers already making changes to more sustainable options, but regulation is essential if we want to see our recycling systems succeed and have real reductions in plastic waste.”

“Both the major supermarket chains and many global brands have signed up to the New Zealand Plastic Packaging Declaration. They have committed to using 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025 or earlier. This is in line with the broader targets of the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, to which New Zealand is a signatory. It is reasonable to expect that the Government will hold up its end of the bargain by implementing simple changes that support them to achieve their goals.” said Sue Coutts.

“The items on this third tranche of plastics phase outs - PVC and polystyrene food and beverage packaging - are products that already have readily available alternatives, from reusable options to the same products made with much more readily recyclable plastics. The government has no excuse to delay phasing out these items,” says Liam Prince from the Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance.

“Without some clear boundaries around which packaging is not acceptable, all the good work being done by proactive companies to put better packaging on the shelves gets undermined by the Government allowing some companies to continue to produce, import and fill non recyclable packaging which ends up as litter, contamination and rubbish,” says Sue Coutts.

“Delaying the implementation of bans and regulations is a classic strategy that has been used by plastics lobbyists to block progress for decades. These initiatives to phase out non-recyclable plastics are widely supported by the public, most businesses, and the recycling industry, who want to see more action faster,” says Sue Coutts.

“While more recycling is nowhere near enough to address the massive plastic pollution crisis, phasing out the most problematic plastic products and polymers is essential for minimising the harms caused by plastic pollution across the full lifecycle of plastics. Phase outs like these mean that genuinely better alternatives can become more mainstream, including reusable items that reduce the need to produce new plastics in the first place,” says Liam Prince from the Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance.

“If the government can’t even progress with the easy changes in the fight against plastic pollution, what hope do we have to reduce the tidal wave of plastic pollution already sweeping over our planet?”

Notes:

The two classes of plastics to be phased out are

All PVC food and beverage packaging

All polystyrene food and beverage packaging

These follow on successful phase outs that started in 2022. The Ministry for the Environment has details here: https://environment.govt.nz/publications/future-plastic-phase-outs/

New Zealand-based companies who have already signed the Plastic Packaging Declaration https://environment.govt.nz/what-you-can-do/campaigns/new-zealand-plastic-packaging-declaration/

Countdown

Foodstuffs

Frucor Suntory

New Zealand Post

Lewis Road Creamery

Mix Limited

Earthwise

BioPak

Jadcup

Lion

Hope Moulded Polystyrene

Fonterra

Eco-Store

Z Energy

Aether Beauty

Pharmapac

Emma Lewisham

International companies
These companies have made the pledge for their New Zealand operations as well as internationally.

Amcor

Danone

L’Oréal

Mars

Nestlé

PepsiCo

The Coca-Cola Company

Unilever

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