WILLINGTON: New Zealand is the most wasteful country in the developed world but investment in organic waste facilities could reduce that by almost a third. Research published on Waste Management World has found New Zealand produces 3.68kg of waste per capita per day, the worst in the developed world and the 10th worst of countries worldwide surveyed.
The problem is only worsened with China announcing last year it would be restricting imports of plastic, which would directly impact the more than 30,000 tonnes of plastic waste New Zealand exports every year.
Zero Waste New Zealand co-director Jo Knight said the company had warned for years of China’s intention to stop imports of plastics, with plastic and foil composites (such as cat food sachets) going to be extremely hard to get rid of. However, Ms Knight said one of the biggest concerns was the 28 percent of organic waste that ends up in our landfills. She said New Zealand had “idiotic systems” for waste management, with most organic waste mixed in with plastics or put down incinerators. We should be investing in bio-gas plants so that organic waste can be turned into bio-fuels like in Europe.” Wellington City Councillor Iona Pannett said the answer to the capital’s organic waste problem was city-wide compost collection but a plant would be a huge investment requiring funding from central government.
