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.
Tyrewise
In New Zealand there is now a stewardship scheme for vehicle tyres, known as Tyrewise. This scheme aims to reduce the number of tyres ending up in landfill or illegal stockpiles. Businesses and individuals who sell tyres must register and comply with the scheme. Consumers pay a stewardship fee when purchasing new tyres, then at the tyres' end of life they can be disposed of at no cost at participating collection sites. The process for end-of-life tyres will include the recovery of raw materials so the tyres become a valuable resource in our circular economy . For further information, refer to the Tyrewise website.
For more information on Product Stewardship in New Zealand we recommend checking out The Rubbish Trip.
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.
Soft Plastics Recycling Scheme
There is an encouraging increase in the number of brands now putting the Soft Plastic Recycling logo on their packaging. Clean and dry soft plastics such as bread bags, biscuit and chip bags and toilet paper packaging can be returned to the soft plastics recycling bin in participating stores. These soft plastics are then recycled into products such as fence posts, garden edging, courier bags and underground cable cover. For more information visit the Soft Plastic Recycling website.
Other examples of voluntary product stewardship include:
Council kerbside recycling services