2022/69
Cindy Kiro, Governor-General
At Wellington this 14th day of March 2022
Present:Her Excellency the Governor-General in Council
These regulations are made under section 23(1)(b) of the Waste Minimisation Act 2008—
on the advice and with the consent of the Executive Council; and
on the recommendation of the Minister for the Environment made after complying with that section.
These regulations are the Waste Minimisation (Plastic and Related Products) Regulations 2022.
These regulations come into force on 1 October 2022.
(1)
In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,—
expanded polystyrene means a lightweight foam that is made by—
expanding polystyrene using heat and gas or any other means; or
extruding polystyrene
plastic means any plastic material that is manufactured from any source (including a bio-based source), whether or not it is designed to degrade in a particular way
plastic drink stirrer means a product that—
is a stick that contains any plastic; and
is intended for stirring a drink
plastic or synthetic cotton bud means a product that is a stem that—
contains any plastic and has cotton wool wrapped around 1 or both ends; or
has any synthetic fibre similar to cotton wool wrapped around 1 or both ends
plastic with pro-degradants means plastic that contains additives to accelerate its fragmentation into smaller pieces (for example, oxo-degradable or photodegradable plastic)
PVC food tray or container means a product that—
is a tray or container that contains any polyvinyl chloride or polyvinylidene dichloride; and
is used, or is intended for use, as rigid and pre-formed packaging for any product that—
is, or contains, meat, fish, poultry, or a substitute for any of those, whether fresh, preserved, or frozen; or
is fresh produce; or
is freshly baked where it is sold by retail
rigid polystyrene means polystyrene other than expanded polystyrene
single-use, for a product, means the product is designed or intended to be used only once or a limited number of times before being disposed of, discarded, or diverted
specified polystyrene packaging for food or drink means a product that—
contains expanded polystyrene or rigid polystyrene; and
is used, or is intended for use, as a container or packaging for food or drink that—
is supplied for immediate consumption (for example, at a restaurant, cafe, or hospital or from a takeaway outlet or office water cooler); or
only in the case of expanded polystyrene, is otherwise sold by retail (for example, at a supermarket or convenience store); but
is not a rigid polystyrene lid for a drink.
(2)
See section 5 of the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 for definitions of—
product, which includes packaging:
sale, which includes distribution or delivery, whether or not for valuable consideration.
The transitional, savings, and related provisions (if any) set out in Schedule 1 have effect according to their terms.
A person must not manufacture or sell any of the following products:
plastic drink stirrers that are single-use:
plastic or synthetic cotton buds that are single-use, unless they are used, or intended for use,—
as a medical device (as defined by section 3A of the Medicines Act 1981) that is not sold by retail; or
in a veterinary clinic for diagnosis or sampling; or
in a commercial food laboratory for food sampling; or
in a laboratory for scientific investigation (even if they are first used for field sampling); or
as part of any kit or other material to test for any medical or scientific matter, including infection or immunity in an individual or animal, and to produce a result without analysis at a laboratory:
any product that contains plastic with pro-degradants:
PVC food trays or containers:
specified polystyrene packaging for food or drink.
To avoid doubt, where subclause (1) applies to any packaging, it applies whether the packaging is by itself or is being used to package another product.
r 4
There are no transitional, savings, or related provisions in these regulations as made.
Michael Webster,Clerk of the Executive Council.
These regulations are the Waste Minimisation (Plastic and Related Products) Regulations 2022. They come into force on 1 October 2022.
The regulations ban the manufacture and sale of certain products, which generally contain plastic. The products are the following (as defined in the regulations):
plastic or synthetic cotton buds that are single-use, with some exceptions:
As defined by the Waste Minimisation Act 2008,—
product includes packaging (and the ban applies whether the packaging is by itself or is being used to package another product); and
sale includes distribution or delivery, whether or not for valuable consideration.
The Ministry for the Environment produced a regulatory impact statement on 3 June 2021 to help inform the decisions taken by the Government relating to the contents of this instrument.
A copy of the regulatory impact statement can be found at—
https://environment.govt.nz/what-government-is-doing/cabinet-papers/phasing-out-specific-hard-to-recycle-plastics-and-single-use-plastic-items/
https://treasury.govt.nz/publications/informationreleases/ris
Issued under the authority of the Legislation Act 2019.
Date of notification in Gazette: 17 March 2022.
These regulations are administered by the Ministry for the Environment.