Waste Minimisation (Waste Disposal Levy) Amendment Act 2024

The amendments:

• broaden the levy's scope
• enable the Minister for the Environment to approve projects that provide for the remediation of contaminated sites, including landfills vulnerable to severe weather impacts
• introduce a second phase of levy rate changes.

Find information on the levy rate changes here.

Broadening the scope of the waste disposal levy will help fund a more comprehensive set of Government waste and environment priorities.

The levy will raise revenue to fund:

• the promotion and achievement of waste minimisation
• activities that reduce environmental harm or increase environmental benefits
• local authorities to:
  • manage emergency waste
  • to repair or replace waste management and minimisation infrastructure damaged by an emergency
• the Ministry’s waste management and minimisation and hazardous substances responsibilities for example:
  • policy development and implementation
  • collecting and using waste data and evidence
  • work related to international agreements on chemicals and waste.
• projects that remediate contaminated sites.

Territorial authorities will continue to have a 50 per cent allocation so they can focus funding on local projects to minimise waste in line with their waste management and minimisation plans.

The amendments enable the Minister for the Environment to approve projects that provide for the remediation of contaminated sites, including landfills vulnerable to severe weather impacts.

The changes will:

• increase the amount of money available to remediate vulnerable landfills
• allows regional councils and unitary authorities to access waste levy funding to deal with the legacy of contaminated sites and historic landfills vulnerable to severe weather.
• replace the current Contaminated Sites Remediation Fund. It will cover a similar scope and phases of remediation of a contaminated site.

These amendments will also help the Government meet Action 5.12 in the National Adaptation Plan Action: Explore funding options to support the investigation and remediation of contaminated sites and landfills vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

For more information on the new fund, go to Contaminated Sites and Vulnerable Landfills Fund.

• Levy rate changes

The amendments introduce a second phase of levy rate changes. This is in addition to the planned levy increase on 1 July 2024. 

The local government proportion of the levy will remain at 50 percent. Local government will continue to fund waste minimisation in line with their waste management and minimisation plans.

The changes will:

• increase the amount of levy that local government receives
• help incentivise people to reduce their waste, supporting better use of our resources
• generate additional revenue and enable the levy to be invested in waste minimisation and other ways to protect the environment.

The Secretary for the Environment can waive the levy in exceptional circumstances. This includes contaminated site waste from the levy.

This is to encourage appropriate disposal of waste to a registered facility.

The Secretary’s power to waive the levy will continue to be discretionary and will require that the Secretary is satisfied that the waiver is justified by exceptional circumstances or reasonable for the remediation of a contaminated site.

The Secretary may also impose conditions on the waiver of the levy in relation to disposal of waste from the remediation of contaminated sites.

The WMA amendments have defined some new terms, such as contaminant and remediate.