Are you responsible for what you make?

Purchasers want to know what to do with products when they have finished with them. New disposal and recycling rules are on their way too. So what can you do?

There’s been an upsurge in concern about waste and pollution. In response, more help is being offered to businesses of all sizes looking to introduce their own product ‘take back’ schemes. The Sustainable Business Network (SBN) has secured a grant from the Waste Minimisation Fund for a two year product stewardship campaign. It will encourage and support producers, brand owners, importers, retailers, as well as consumers, to reduce the environmental impact of the products we make and use. 

The campaign includes a series of roadshows in major cities up and down the country featuring partners 3R Group, Abilities Group, Fuji Xerox and Inzide Commercial. These will explain and promote the benefits of product take back schemes, and other forms of product stewardship. 

For businesses this will involve developing greater oversight and control throughout the whole product life cycle, from production through to end of use and beyond. It means avoiding wasteful products and eliminating unnecessary waste. It also means redesigning products and processes to ensure products and materials are recycled or reused. 

Sounds hard? Well, it’s a challenge. But developing a voluntary product take back scheme will keep you ahead of potential law changes. It will differentiate you from the competition. It will cut waste, improve efficiency and bring back valuable resources for you to reuse. And it will give your customers end of life solutions, not problems. 

SBN’s campaign seeks to increase the voluntary product stewardship schemes accredited by the Ministry for the Environment. There are currently 13 of them. One example is the Interface ReEntry Programme. This recycles used carpet tiles into new carpet tiles and other products. Carpet tiles beyond their usable life are returned to the original US manufacturer. Once there they are stripped and remanufactured. 

Schemes like these cut waste and return valuable materials back into production. 

The roadshows will be followed up with a national campaign encouraging business buyers to ask “what will I do with this at the end of its life?” when purchasing. This is intended to incentivise the creation of more schemes. It also aims to make product stewardship considerations a normal aspect of business buying. 

Compulsory product stewardship

Meanwhile, the Ministry for the Environment has opened its consultation on similar issues. The government is proposing the staged introduction of compulsory product stewardship. This will initially be for six priority products: packaging, tyres, e-waste, refrigerants, agrichemicals and farm plastics. 

James Griffin leads SBN’s work on product stewardship and the circular economy. He says: “We all have to take greater responsibility for the environmental impacts of what we do in our personal and professional lives. The days when companies could produce whatever they liked and let the customer or ratepayer pick up the disposal bill are numbered. 

“Businesses must adjust to this new reality. A more circular economy is inevitable. Those who do it fastest will enjoy significant competitive advantage and customer support. In the process they may create innovations with global potential.”

Plastic packaging masterclasses

SBN is also running a series of plastic packaging masterclasses. These bring together industry experts, business leaders and regulators to improve New Zealand’s plastic packaging systems. Many of the participating companies are signatories to the New Plastics Economy (NPEC) Global Commitment. The initial commitment is to ensure 100 percent of plastic packaging is easily and safely reused, recycled, or composted by 2025. One of the goals of the masterclass series is to enable companies to meet and exceed this commitment. 

To find out more visit www.sustainable.org.nz