The regulations prohibit the sale and manufacture of certain single-use and hard-to-recycle plastic items from 1 October 2022.
Waste Minimisation (Plastic and Related Products) Regulations 2022
MfE
1 October 2022
From 1 October 2022 retailers can no longer sell or distribute the targeted plastic items and they can no longer be manufactured.
The regulations give effect to policy decisions made in June 2021 following an earlier consultation period.
The regulations were approved and announced in March 2022. This gave businesses a six-month period, until 1 October 2022, to transition away from the targeted items.
Plastic is one of our greatest environmental challenges. It regularly ends up as waste in our landfills, our moana and whenua.
Difficult-to-recycle packaging and products can interfere with our recycling systems and are often used only once before being disposed of.
Shifting away from hard-to-recycle and single-use plastics will help reduce plastic waste, improve our recycling systems and protect our environment. This shift is also part of our journey to move Aotearoa New Zealand towards a low-carbon, low-waste circular economy.
Read more information about how we consulted on banning these items and decisions
The regulations will apply to any individual, business or retailer who sells (including suppliers) or manufacturers any of the targeted plastic item(s) in New Zealand.
This includes:
The following products will no longer be able to be sold or manufactured in Aotearoa from 1 October 2022:
This ban includes plastic drink stirrers made of all plastic types including degradable, biodegradable, and compostable plastics.
There are no exemptions for this ban.
This ban includes plastic stemmed cotton-buds made of all plastic types including degradable, biodegradable and compostable plastics.
There are exemptions for this ban for medical and scientific purposes – see below for more detail.
Oxo- and photo- degradable plastic products are typically made of conventional plastic that has been manufactured with additives that help the plastic to quickly fragment into smaller pieces, but don’t break down in a specified timeframe (like compostable plastics). These plastics can’t be composted or recycled in Aotearoa, and they leave micro-plastics in the environment.
The type of plastic products that we know may contain pro-degradant additives (pro degradant plastics) include:
While the ban targets all plastics with pro-degradant additives, oxo- and photo- degradable plastics are the most common examples of these plastic types on the market at the moment. There are a few additional plastic types emerging in this category, and we intend to provide updated information prior to these regulations coming into effect.
This ban will include pre-formed trays and containers that contain PVC or polyvinylidene dichloride (PVdC), when they are used for meat products (including substitutes), produce or baked goods. The regulations are not intended to ban the same trays if they are used for other purposes.
A pre-formed tray is intended to capture rigid trays that are manufactured separately to the food it packages. The ban is not intended to cover PVC form-fill-seal packaging where the plastic is formed, filled with food and mechanically sealed on the same line. This type of PVC food and beverage packaging will be captured in the third tranche of regulations, coming into force in 2025.
This ban includes polystyrene used to package food or beverages for immediate consumption – for example, some sushi trays and some takeaway containers from a hospitality venue (eg restaurant, café or other food and beverage takeaway outlet).
Polystyrene used to package retail products (such as chilled packs of yoghurt or sour cream pottles) are not included at this stage – although they will be captured in the third tranche of bans in 2025.
Polystyrene drink lids are also not included. We are currently working on a plan for phasing out single-use cups and lids, and will consider polystyrene drink lids through this work.
This ban includes all expanded polystyrene food and beverage packaging sold at retail. This includes both food service ware (eg, takeaway foamed clamshells and bowls) and grocery products (eg, instant noodle containers or a foamed cup multi-pack).
Expanded polystyrene bins (which are sold at wholesale) used to transport items (such as kiwifruit or seafood) through the cold chain are not included.
Plastic stemmed cotton-buds are exempt from the ban when used:
The regulations do not specifically cover imports; however, imports are caught by proxy as the items are banned from sale in New Zealand (and sale includes the free provision alongside a purchased product).
For example, the regulations do not stop someone from importing plastic drink stirrers into New Zealand. However, they are intended to prevent the sale of those stirrers to anyone else.
There will be two more tranches of phase-outs following this first tranche. Plastic produce bags, plastic tableware, plastic straws and non-compostable plastic produce labels are intended to be banned by mid-2023. All other PVC and polystyrene food and beverage packaging not covered by the first two tranches will be banned by mid-2025.
We intend to publish implementation guidance for businesses prior to each tranche of bans coming into force.
See more information about the next bans here:
If you have further questions on the tranche 1 plastic regulations contact the plastic phase-out team at plastics@mfe.govt.nz.