Have your say on proposed regulations on importing and exporting e-waste
The Government sought feedback on proposed regulations to better manage the international trade in e-waste.
New Zealand is a signatory to the Basel Convention, an international treaty that aims to protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects of hazardous waste. The Basel Convention aims to reduce the movement of hazardous waste between nations and especially from developed to less developed countries, including e-waste.
At its 15th meeting in 2022, the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention adopted a decision that transboundary movement of all e-waste will require consent from the importing country.
Consent is already required for hazardous e-waste. The proposed regulations would mean that consent is also required to import or export non-hazardous e-waste. These regulations would put New Zealand in a position to comply with these Basel Convention amendments before they come into effect.
We sought feedback on:
- the proposed regulations to require prior informed consent to import or export non-hazardous e-waste
- the likely impact on importers and exporters of non-hazardous e-waste when they will be required to apply for an import/export permit for all e-waste from 1 January 2025.
Submissions closed on Wednesday 28 August 2024.
International rules for shipping e-waste changed on 1 January 2025 due to changes to the Basel Convention.
From this date, all e-waste shipped internationally will require consent from the importing and any transit countries. E-waste may be returned at your cost if you do not have consent.
In New Zealand, you already need consent to import and export hazardous e-waste.
The domestic regulations for the amendments for non-hazardous e-waste are not yet in place in New Zealand. This means you cannot yet apply for a permit to ship non-hazardous e-waste.
You will need to store non-hazardous e-waste until the new regulations are in effect. We are endeavouring to implement the non-hazardous e-waste amendments as soon as practically possible.
Please continue to apply for a permit from the Environmental Protection Authority to ship hazardous e-waste: Shipping hazardous waste | EPA.