Regulated product stewardship is the concept that producers are responsible for specified problematic products at the end of life, and ensure the costs of proper waste management are paid by producers and consumers, not communities and the environment.
Examples of successful product stewardship schemes overseas include reverse vending machines in Europe, where a device accepts used (empty) beverage containers and returns money to the user;
For more information on Product Stewardship in New Zealand we recommend checking out The Rubbish Trip and The Kiwi Bottle Drive
Voluntary product stewardship in New Zealand
There are numerous voluntary product stewardship programs happening around New Zealand. Most voluntary product stewardship schemes experience problems with participation and product recovery rates.
Schemes that set a voluntary levy or fee for responsible end-of-life waste product management discourage participation by producers and consumers, lead to low rates of collection for recycling or treatment, and often do not collect enough levies or fees to cover a full service * non-members of a voluntary scheme with a levy can charge less for their product and have a market advantage over participating brand owners * accredited voluntary schemes that deal with only one company’s products (as do seven of the 14 accredited schemes) can have excellent results but will not influence most of that product group.
Council kerbside recycling services
Soft Plastics Recycling Scheme
