Improving waste data
This page provides information on our work to improve waste data.
This work will build and maintain a waste data evidence base, providing comprehensive and internationally comparable waste data. It can be used to analyse, plan and make decisions to manage and minimise waste.
Improving data availability, accessibility and quality will also help us to understand behavioural changes over time and assist with monitoring compliance.
Delivered in December 2023, the first dashboards provide interactive waste data. We will update the dashboards with new information on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis, dependant on when it is available.
Watch a video tour of the data
The programme will expand to include new types of data over time. Information shared in 2023/2024 is a starting point from which we will build on as new information becomes available. Further analysis will come later.
Coming up in 2024
- Information collected through changes to existing regulations. The Waste Minimisation (Information Requirements) Amendment Regulations 2023 and the Waste Minimisation (Calculation and Payment of Waste Disposal Levy) Amendment Regulations 2023 will take effect from 1 July 2024 and new data (eg, activity category) will be published once it’s available to be shared.
The waste data covers four main areas:
Waste disposal at registered facilities
This data comes mainly from waste operator reporting requirements under the waste disposal levy regulations. It includes information about waste and material disposed of or diverted by waste facilities. We update the data monthly in the facility and disposal dashboards for most facility types.
We report on waste and materials from municipal landfills (class 1), construction and demolition landfills (class 2), managed or controlled fill facilities (class 3 and 4), and transfer stations. The Ministry holds records from municipal landfills (class 1) dating back to 2009.
Since 2021, the scope of reporting required by the regulations has expanded. Construction and demolition landfills (class 2) and transfer stations were required to begin reporting in January 2022.
Managed or controlled fill facilities (class 3 and 4), cleanfills (class 5), and industrial monofils were required to begin reporting in January 2023.
The facility and disposal dashboards will include these facility classes once we have a full 12-month data set.
Waste sector emissions
We source waste sector emissions data from Te Rārangi Haurehu Kati Mahana a Aotearoa, New Zealand's greenhouse gas inventory, 1990-2021. The inventory is published every April with a two-year lag. Data will be updated annually in line with inventory reporting. Chapter 7 of the inventory reports quantities of greenhouse gases emitted from all waste sources. For the solid waste category (5.A), the inventory provides estimates of the composition of waste sent to landfill in all facility classes.
Funding for waste initiatives
We source information about funding for waste initiatives from our waste investment funds that support waste minimisation projects. We will update this data around every quarter (variable by funding round).
Research on public attitudes toward waste and recycling
We regularly conduct research to understand and monitor general attitudes and behaviours relating to waste minimisation. This research informs our waste management policies and initiatives. We update this data annually.
The Ministry has several workstreams to improve waste generation and disposal information and data.
The Government has approved changes to existing regulations that will improve the quality and availability of waste data and inform future waste reduction policies.
The following amendments regulations will take effect from 1 July 2024.
- Waste Minimisation (Information Requirements) Amendment Regulations 2023
- Waste Minimisation (Calculation and Payment of Waste Disposal Levy) Amendment Regulations 2023
Changes include:
- Reporting activity source for materials: Facility operators will need to report the source of the material they receive. This information will allow us to develop targeted waste reduction strategies. Categories include:
- Construction and demolition
- Mixed industrial, commercial and institutional
- Heavy industrial
- Residential drop-off
- Residential kerbside collections
- Unusual activity
- Transfer stations – mixed activities
- Revised volume-to-weight conversion factors for non-weighbridge sites:
- The regulations introduce updated conversion factors for facilities that don’t have weighbridges. The number of categories for waste types and diverted materials will also be expanded to improve the accuracy of waste quantity estimates.
- Territorial authorities’ reporting on waste, levy spending and waste minimisation activities:
- The regulations require territorial authorities to report on all waste managed under their regional services. This includes the types and quantities of waste collected and contamination levels in recyclable materials. This reporting is required for services outlined in each territorial authority’s waste management and minimisation plan. Territorial authorities must also report on how they spend the waste levy money they receive.
Learn more about:
Te Rautaki Para, the Waste Strategy, sets three national targets for 2030 (see figure 1). The targets focus on the three most important changes we need to make.
- Waste generation: reduce the amount of material entering the waste management system, by 10 per cent per person.
- Waste disposal: reduce the amount of material that needs final disposal, by 30 per cent per person.
- Waste emissions: reduce the biogenic methane emissions from waste, by at least 30 per cent.
These targets are ambitious. For all three targets, New Zealanders currently have incomplete data to set baselines and measure progress. Some of the data is old and some comes with a high degree of uncertainty. Limited data is not a reason to exclude targets from the waste strategy. Targets are an important way to provide focus and motivation. As the data improves, we expect to refine and extend the targets we are using, through action and investment plans and reviews of the strategy.
The National Waste Data Reporting Programme will include reporting on these strategy targets in 2024/2025. We’re currently working out the details for reporting. In the future, we will provide details about measurement.
Figure 1: Waste hierarchy with targets
If you have any questions, please email the National Waste Data Reporting team at nwdrp@mfe.govt.nz.