5Interpretation

1. In this Act, unless the context requires another meaning,—

   accredited scheme means a product stewardship scheme accredited by the Minister under section 15

   appointed levy collector means a person appointed in accordance with section 40(1)(a) to collect the levy

   auditor means a person appointed under section 87(1)

   contaminant includes any substance (including gases, odorous compounds, liquids, solids, and micro-organisms) or energy (excluding noise) or heat that either by itself or in combination with the same, similar, or other substances, energy, or heat,—

   1. when discharged into water, changes or is likely to change the physical, chemical, or biological condition of the water; or
   2. when discharged onto or into land or into air, changes or is likely to change the physical, chemical, or biological condition of the land or air onto or into which it is discharged

   contaminated site means land where a contaminant is present, or is likely to be present,—

   1. in any physical state in, on, or under the land; and
   2. in concentrations that pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment

   disposal has the meaning set out in section 6

   disposal facility has the meaning set out in section 7

   diverted material means any thing that is no longer required for its original purpose and, but for commercial or other waste minimisation activities, would be disposed of or discarded

   emergency has the same meaning as in section 4 of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002

   emergency waste means—

   1. waste that has been caused by an emergency; or
   2. any thing identified as emergency waste by notice made under section 38A

   enforcement officer means a person appointed as an enforcement officer under section 76(1) or (2)

   environment has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Resource Management Act 1991

   financial year means a period of 12 months ending with 30 June

   hazardous substance includes, but is not limited to, any substance defined in section 2 of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 as a hazardous substance

   infringement fee means the amount prescribed as the infringement fee for the infringement offence concerned

   infringement offence means an offence prescribed as an infringement offence under section 59(a)

   judicial officer means a District Court Judge, a Justice of the Peace, a Community Magistrate, or a Registrar (not being a constable)

   levy means the levy imposed by section 26

   levy collector, in relation to a disposal facility, means—

   1. the Secretary, if there is no appointed levy collector for the facility; or
   2. the appointed levy collector for the facility

   levy money means the money paid as levy

   local authority has the same meaning as in section 5(1) of the Local Government Act 2002

   Medical Officer of Health has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Health Act 1956

   Minister means the Minister for the Environment

   nuisance has the same meaning as in section 29 of the Health Act 1956

   objectives, in relation to a product stewardship scheme, means the objectives for the product to which the scheme relates as set under section 14(c)(i)

   operator means the person in control of a disposal facility or other facility

   prescribed means prescribed by regulations made under this Act

   priority product means a product declared to be a priority product in accordance with section 9

   producer means a person who—

   1. manufactures a product and sells it in New Zealand under the person’s own brand; or
   2. is the owner or licence holder of a trademark under which a product is sold in New Zealand; or
   3. imports a product for sale in New Zealand; or
   4. manufactures or imports a product for use in trade by the person or the person’s agent

   product includes—

   1. packaging; and
   2. a class of product

   recovery—

   1. means extraction of materials or energy from waste or diverted material for further use or processing; and
   2. includes making waste or diverted material into compost

   recycling means the reprocessing of waste or diverted material to produce new materials

   reduction means—

   1. lessening waste generation, including by using products more efficiently or by redesigning products; and
   2. in relation to a product, lessening waste generation in relation to the product

   remediate, in relation to a contaminated site, means to remove a contaminant from the site or to lessen the harmful effects of a contaminant

   reuse means the further use of waste or diverted material in its existing form for the original purpose of the materials or products that constitute the waste or diverted material, or for a similar purpose

   sale includes—

   1. an offer for sale; and
   2. distribution or delivery, whether or not for valuable consideration (including delivery to an agent for sale on consignment)

   scheme manager means the contact person for an accredited scheme

   Secretary means the Secretary for the Environment appointed in accordance with section 29 of the Environment Act 1986

   territorial authority has the same meaning as in section 5(1) of the Local Government Act 2002

   treatment—

   1. means subjecting waste to any physical, biological, or chemical process to change its volume or character so that it may be disposed of with no or reduced adverse effect on the environment; but
   2. does not include dilution of waste

   waste—

   1. means any thing disposed of or discarded; and
   2. includes a type of waste that is defined by its composition or source (for example, organic waste, electronic waste, or construction and demolition waste); and
   3. to avoid doubt, includes any component or element of diverted material, if the component or element is disposed of or discarded

   Waste Advisory Board or Board means the Waste Advisory Board established by section 89

   waste management and minimisation means waste minimisation and treatment and disposal of waste

   waste management and minimisation infrastructure means infrastructure and associated equipment that is used to support waste management and minimisation

   waste management and minimisation plan or plan means a waste management and minimisation plan adopted by a territorial authority under section 43

   waste minimisation means—

   1. the reduction of waste; and
   2. the reuse, recycling, and recovery of waste and diverted material.

2. In this Act,—

3. benefits expected from implementing regulations, or from reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery, or treatment of a product, include both monetary and non-monetary benefits:
4. costs expected from implementing regulations include both monetary and non-monetary costs.