From the Executive Director

Paul Curtis - Executive Director

Change seems to have been the only constant over the last 12 months, with a new Minister for the Environment, proposals for new environmental legislation on both sides of the Tasman, a Royal Commission of enquiry into Auckland’s governance and our new President leading the Packaging Council in a new and exciting direction. In all, it’s been an unpredictable and challenging year. 

After the Green Party’s Waste Minimisation (Solids) Bill passed its first reading in Parliament, the Government released a Supplementary Order Paper

(SOP) outlining its preferred waste policy in September 2007.

The issue for both politicians and industry is that environmental policies intended to change behaviour have to cost someone. As we all know, some costs can be passed on, but some inevitably have to be absorbed.

The Packaging Council took a pragmatic approach to the submission process on the Waste Bill, recognising that the Bill has the support to carry it through Parliament. When we appeared before the Select Committee we said we wanted 100% of the waste levy fund to be spent on environmental projects of national strategic significance, greater recognition and protection of voluntary product stewardship schemes such as the Packaging Accord and local councils to take account of the national waste strategy before passing bylaws. The latter is important to ensure that well intentioned local initiatives don’t undermine a wider national strategy to waste minimisation.

We were successful on each of these points to a greater or lesser extent, as covered in more detail later in the Annual Report, which showed that our concerted effort of direct meetings with the Select Committee and other senior MPs from the main parties has been worth while.

However, the advocacy work does not end here. At the time of writing, the Select Committee has just proposed a new and wide definition of waste that will capture recyclable material, bringing with it a number of unintended consequences and further compliance costs. So the dialogue continues and will do for the foreseeable future if the Waste Bill becomes an Act and the various provisions are brought into force through new regulations.

So in this changing world, it’s important for the Packaging Council to have a clear sense of its purpose and to know what we stand for. Feedback from members and other stakeholders made us realise that we weren’t always clear in articulating our purpose.

Following our strategic review, we now have a clear focus on minimising the environmental impact of packaging and increasing packaging recovery rates by advocating cost effective, sustainable solutions and championing product stewardship.

Over the coming months we will be working hard to communicate our purpose externally, improve our public profile and to build on our single greatest strength, which is that we are a broad church. The Packaging Council is the only organisation in New Zealand which brings together packaging manufacturers, recycling operators, brand owners and retailers.

Together we are designing sustainable packaging solutions for New Zealand that best fit our country and we are doing it at best cost. What works elsewhere is not necessarily the right model for a country the size and geographical shape of ours with a small population - important points for us to reiterate to politicians when they look around the world for policy ideas.

We believe that our actions speak louder than those who call to replace the voluntary New Zealand Packaging Accord with legislative alternatives. Much is being achieved under the umbrella of the Packaging Accord and it is important that the Packaging Council continues to present the big picture – which is often not seen.

Plastic supermarket shopping bags are a case in point. The media attention in New Zealand following China’s recent announcement to ban plastic shopping bags has been phenomenal, and yet they comprise less than 0.2% of our waste stream and are a valuable raw material for recyclers. So the best solution is not to tax or ban plastic bags, but to say to consumers “if you don’t want a plastic bag, don’t take one; but if you do take a bag, make sure you re-use it, or where you can recycle it.” This is the message of the supermarket’s highly successful Make a Difference Campaign which the Packaging Council is proud to support.

The high calibre of entries to our 2007 Environmental Packaging Awards showed to the world that many of our members are now taking a complete supply chain approach to new product development to maximise transport efficiencies, minimise space and storage requirements - meaning fewer journeys required - and are developing new technologies to make their packaging lighter, stronger and more energy efficient to produce. As a result, New Zealand produced packaging is now 40% lighter than it was a decade ago.

Our members are not just looking at the recyclability of their packaging but also considering the carbon footprint that their manufacturing and distribution processes have on the country and indeed the world.

We are industry’s voice and we will continue to sell your successes and inform the debate on your behalf. We look forward to your continued support next year.

Paul Curtis
Executive Director

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TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING

77 Greenmount Drive, East Tamaki, Manukau
PO Box 58899, Greenmount, Auckland
PHONE 09 271 4044, FAX 09 271 4041
EMAIL: pac.nz@packaging.org.nz