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Waste Minimisation Act 2008

Preliminary provisions

3: Purpose of this Act

You could also call this:

"Helping to Reduce Waste and Protect the Environment"

Illustration for Waste Minimisation Act 2008

The purpose of this Act is to encourage you to minimise waste and decrease waste disposal. This is to protect the environment from harm and provide benefits for the environment, society, economy, and culture. You can help achieve this by being mindful of your waste.

The purpose of Part 3 is to impose a levy on waste disposed of, which will raise revenue to fund things like promoting waste minimisation and reducing environmental harm. This revenue will also help local authorities manage emergency waste and repair waste management infrastructure. You will contribute to these efforts when you pay the levy on waste disposal.

By imposing a levy, the cost of waste disposal will increase, which recognises that disposing of waste has costs for the environment, society, and the economy. This means you will be more aware of the impact of your waste disposal and can make choices to minimise your waste.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM1154501.

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Part 1Preliminary provisions

3Purpose of this Act

  1. The purpose of this Act is to encourage waste minimisation and a decrease in waste disposal in order to—

  2. protect the environment from harm; and
    1. provide environmental, social, economic, and cultural benefits.

      1. The purpose of Part 3 is, in addition to the purpose specified in subsection (1), to enable a levy to be imposed on waste disposed of to—

      2. raise revenue to fund—
        1. the promotion and achievement of waste minimisation; and
          1. activities that reduce environmental harm or increase environmental benefits; and
            1. local authorities to manage emergency waste and to repair or replace waste management and minimisation infrastructure damaged by an emergency; and
              1. the Ministry to undertake its functions and duties, and exercise its powers, in relation to waste management and minimisation and hazardous substances; and
                1. projects that provide for the remediation of contaminated sites; and
                2. increase the cost of waste disposal to recognise that disposal imposes costs on the environment, society, and the economy.

                  Notes
                  • Section 3(2): inserted, on , by section 4 of the Waste Minimisation (Waste Disposal Levy) Amendment Act 2024 (2024 No 21).