Amy Adams19 SEPTEMBER,
2013
Environment Minister Amy Adams has today
announced the accreditation of a product
stewardship scheme which turns nappies and
sanitary waste into compost.
Using purpose-built
plants, the Kimberly Clark Envirocomp product
stewardship scheme breaks down nappies and
sanitary waste into a safe, odourless compost,
instead of sending them to landfill.
By February 2015, the
scheme aims to process three million nappies
per year.
“New Zealanders developed
this solution to a waste issue that many
families and businesses face. The Government
saw the potential and backed it, as did
global organisations which are now taking
it to the world,” Ms Adams says.
“The Envirocomp product
stewardship scheme demonstrates how partnerships
between entrepreneurs and established businesses
can take an idea and make it a reality.”
Under the scheme, people
in the Canterbury and Wellington regions
have their waste collected directly or take
it to special collection bins. The waste
is then composted at specialist facilities.
The process is designed
to comply with the New Zealand Standard
for Composts, Soil Conditioners and Mulches,
ensuring potential pollutants and contaminants
to the environment are minimised.
Envirocomp has previously
received $730,000 from the Government’s
Waste Minimisation Fund to investigate and
build a Wellington composting facility.
It also received a Green
Ribbon Award in 2008 for its contribution
to household sustainability.
Under the Waste Minimisation
Act, the Minister for the Environment has
the ability to recognise product stewardship
schemes through accreditation.
A product stewardship
scheme will only be accredited after it
has been thoroughly assessed to ensure accreditation
criteria have been met. In turn, accredited
schemes have to report annually to the Minister
on their objectives and targets.
This is the ninth voluntary
product stewardship scheme to be accredited
in New Zealand.
+ More
Board appointed for
Ruakura Development Plan Change Request
Amy Adams25 SEPTEMBER,
2013
Environment Minister Amy Adams has today
announced the members of an independent
Board of Inquiry to consider the Ruakura
Development Plan Change Request.
Last month, Ms Adams
referred the request to a Board of Inquiry,
following the Environmental Protection Authority’s
recommendation that the plan change is part
of a proposal of national significance.
The plan change is for
new planning policies and rules to enable
mixed-use development at Ruakura near Hamilton.
This includes an inland port, industrial
activities, commercial uses, medium-density
housing and an integrated network of green
space.
The Board of Inquiry
will be chaired by Environment Court Judge
Melanie Harland. The other Board members
are Environment Commissioner Jim Hodges,
planning consultant Jenny Hudson and engineer
Gerry Te Kapa Coates.
Judge Harland was admitted
to the Bar in 1985 and is experienced in
criminal, civil, resource management and
public law.
She was appointed as
a fulltime Environment Judge in September
2009.
Mr Hodges was appointed
as an Environment Commissioner in July 2013,
and has about 40 years’ experience as a
professional engineer, in both civil and
environmental engineering including infrastructure
development.
He has engineering expertise
in water supply, wastewater, stormwater,
site development, and industrial projects.
Mr Harland has been
actively involved in statutory plan preparation,
including the Auckland Region Three Waters
Strategic Plan; the Auckland Regional Plan:
Air, Land and Water; the New Zealand Coastal
Policy Statement; the National Policy Statement
for Freshwater Management; and the National
Infrastructure Plan.
Ms Hudson is an accredited
independent hearings commissioner and resource
management consultant with significant planning
experience.
She has experience in
commercial, residential, roading, district
plan policy and utility projects. This has
included private plan change applications
for land use changes, Notices of Requirement
and resource consent applications for mixed
use developments.
Mr Te Kapa Coates is
an experienced engineer with a specialist
background in electrical engineering.
He has worked across
a wide range of fields including energy,
transport policy and infrastructure development
as a consultant, advisor and decision-maker.
Mr Te Kapa Coates has
acted in a large number of governance roles
including as a board member for Land Transport
New Zealand and the NZ Centre for Advanced
Engineering, as chair of the NZ Wind Energy
Association and Marine Energy Deployment
Fund Evaluation Panel, as well as his current
role as director of Waihao Holdings Limited.
