WasteMINZ
  • WasteMINZ sector groups

    WasteMINZ' eight sector groups, and various working groups are the heart of how we function. These groups drive the activities of the organisation and help deliver member led initiatives to improve and advance the waste, resource recovery and contaminated land sectors across Aotearoa New Zealand.

     

    The sector group work programmes range from behaviour change, through to environmental controls at the point of disposal and the containment of harmful substances, to keeping the workforce and communities safe, while maximising the value of materials which can be recycled, reused or repurposed.

     

    If you care about the future of Aotearoa New Zealand for future generations, please get involved in a WasteMINZ sector group. 


    ​If you're a WasteMINZ member you can find additional information and resources for each of our sector groups on our Member Portal.
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    Which sector group do I belong to?

The sector groups strategic plans and work programmes, meeting minutes and committee membership details can all be found in our MEMBER ONLY PORTAL.  If you are a member and need help signing into the member portal, or are unsure of your membership status, please contact us. 

How do WasteMINZ' sector groups operate? 

WasteMINZ has developed terms of reference and operating guidelines to define how sector and technical working groups are formed and operate.

Each sector group operates under the WasteMINZ umbrella, which provides professional support, to help the sector group achieve its goals. The groups represent the technical expertise and knowledge that is WasteMINZ. The Board and staff of WasteMINZ act as facilitators, empowering each group to achieve their goals, in line with the guidelines. 

How are they structured? 

Each sector group has a steering committee who guide the work programme.  Members of the steering committee represent the sector and are elected to the committee by their peers. 

The sector groups are mostly formed to meet specific goals, such as shaping policy, developing industry standards and good practice guidance, developing training and development processes, along with conducting research and development.

WasteMINZ's working groups

As well as our sector groups, we have several working groups that bring together key stakeholders from across the sectors. They work on the following topics:
 Asbestos disposal  Joint contaminated land management/New Zealand Geotechnical Society 
 Battery collection sites Farm waste 
 Coal tar in roading  Promotion of the waste and resource recover sectors
 Construction waste  Residential lead 
 Disaster waste  Reuse 
 Identifying training gaps for office-based jobs  Soil disposal sampling 

Our work

Tackling Aotearoa New Zealand's waste, resource recovery and contaminated land management issues - WasteMINZ's priorities


In November 2023, WasteMINZ released a document outlining the key issues for the sectors in Aotearoa New Zealand, the work and advocacy WasteMINZ members have undertaken to address these issues, and recommendations on what actions need to be taken by the Government. You can read it here. 

Sector Group Guidelines for finding credible research

The Organic Materials Sector Group, with input from the Behaviour Change Sector Group, have produce guidance on how to find credible sources of information when you are researching a topic. The guidance has clickable links to take you straight to these credible sources. You can download the Guide here.

Behaviour change

Share knowledge and resources to develop and encourage the implementation of behaviour change good practice.


Disposal to Land

The sector group was established to promote a consistent and good practice approach to the management of waste disposal to land by:
  • Providing a consistent and good practice approach to the development and operation of Disposal Facilities
  • Exploring the future of the industry in regard to landfill sustainability and new or innovative technologies in relation to land disposal
  • Investigating appropriate and safe land disposal requirements for wastes, particularly problem wastes
  • Strengthening industry collaboration and stakeholder relationships and increasing knowledge

Sector Group Projects

Organic Materials

The group’s vision is to minimise the generation of residual organic materials, maximise the capture and value of residual organic materials, and ensure their beneficial reuse to contribute to Aotearoa’s resilient and productive future. You can view a video about the sector group's priorities and meet some of the committee members here.


Sector Group Projects

The 6 guidelines listed above plus the composters' position paper can also be viewed here.

Product Stewardship 

The Product Stewardship Sector Group was established in 2018 to advance mandatory schemes for the priority products announced by the Minister in July 2020, ensure regulated schemes are designed to include high level principles of equity, the repair hierarchy and accessibility.

A Right to Repair working group has been advocating for Right to Repair measures in Aotearoa since 2019.

Sector Group Projects 

Contaminated Land Management (CLM)

Promote good practice contaminated land management by:

  • Providing good practice for the industry
  • Developing relationships with relevant stakeholders
  • Providing networking and knowledge sharing opportunities
  • Encouraging clear and concise legislation

Factsheets developed by the CLM sector group

   Position Statements by the CLM sector group

CLM Sector Group Article

Health & Safety 

The sector group was established to eliminate occupational injury or illness in the solid waste and resource recovery sector by:

  • Providing a support network for those actively involved in health and safety in the waste management sector
  • Making available credible, targeted, and relevant information, opportunities for communication, co-operation and exchange of ideas and experiences
  • Providing a forum for discussions with government agencies and other key sector stakeholders on waste related OHS issues and regulations
  • Encouraging strategic and commercially relevant research and development, and developing and promoting relevant good practice standards or guidelines and encourage their adoption by the sector.

Industry Guidelines 

Sector group resources

Recycling & Resource Recovery  

The vision for the R&RR Sector Group is to work with the people of Aotearoa to maximise the recovery and delivery of high-quality materials for remanufacturing that aligns with a move to a circular economy, and which keep products and materials in use, at their highest level.


Territorial Authorities' Officers Forum 

Restricted to local government members, the Territorial Authorities' Officers Forum (TAO Forum) was established to create consistency and efficiency of service amongst territorial authorities through sharing knowledge and best practice around waste, recycling and resource recovery. 


The TAO Forum instigated the Love Food Hate Waste campaign. and contributing TAOs provide the ongoing funding for it. Three councils took part in a LFHW Pilot Intervention project in 2022. The results of the project can be found here.


The TAO Forum co-funded the Rethinking Rubbish and Recycling (see above under the Behaviour Change Sector Group), which included the Plastic Free July Aotearoa campaign.


In 2018 the TAO Forum commissioned Eunomia to produce the Local Government Waste Manifesto, which outlined the waste management actions which the TAO Forum thought central government should prioritise. The manifesto was adopted as a remit by LGNZ in 2018. The manifesto was updated in 2020 to reflect the work that had been progressed by central government since the publication of the original manifesto.


The TAO Forum embarked on a further update in 2023, as many of the priorities had been progressed by the Ministry for the Environment. The updated manifesto was released in August 2023, and helps to build awareness of the waste related priorities for local government and ensure the delivery of the waste strategy and other key priorities. Learn more here. 







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Email

cj@wasteminz.org.nz

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Phone

09 476 7162