The Recycling Leadership Forum was established in May 2024. It brings together brand owners and representatives from the retail, packaging, food and grocery, recycling, and local government sectors. It provides expert advice and information to the Ministry for the Environment on improving the recyclability and recovery of packaging materials.
The forum:
The independent chair of the forum serving from 1 November 2024 is:
| Independent Chair | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rachel Reese |
The current members appointed to the forum are:
| Name | Role and organisation | Sector |
|---|---|---|
| Raewyn Bleakley | CE, Food and Grocery Council | Brand owners/food and grocery |
| Cameron Scott | Vice Chair, Food and Grocery Council | Brand owners/food and grocery |
| Sandy Botterill | Head of Environmental Social Governance, Foodstuffs | Retailers |
| Ann-Marie Johnson | Manager, Advocacy, Advice and Communications, Retail New Zealand | Retailers |
| Alec McNeil | Manager Resource Recovery, Christchurch City Council | Local government |
| Parul Sood | Deputy Director Resilience and Infrastructure, Auckland Council | Local government |
| Harry Burkhardt | President, Packaging New Zealand | Packaging sector |
| Rob Langford | CEO, The Packaging Forum | Packaging sector |
| Daniel Yallop | NZ Business Development Manager, Re.Group | Recycling sector |
| Chris Lobb | General Manager Special Projects, Enviro NZ | Recycling sector |
As a qualified mediator and a local body politician, Rachel has extensive experience in facilitating discussions among diverse groups and driving towards a shared outcome. Rachel served 15 years as an elected member of Nelson City Council with most of that time as Mayor or deputy Mayor. As Chair, or a member, of numerous committees and inter-regional fora, Rachel demonstrated her ability to build trust and work collaboratively across central and local government, mana whenua, industry and community organisations.
Since leaving local government Rachel’s skills and experience have seen her appointed to boards and advisory bodies tackling issues including Plastic Packaging Product Stewardship, Water Services Transition, National Ticketing Solution for public transport, and the Ministerial inquiry into land use response in Tairawhiti.
Rachel believes the work of the Recycling Leadership Forum will support better recycling and environmental outcomes for New Zealand.
Raewyn has a nuanced understanding of the packaging sector and brings extensive experience building collaborations across diverse stakeholder groups.
In her current role as Chief Executive of the New Zealand Food and Grocery Council (NZFGC), Raewyn oversees an industry association that represents the manufacturers and suppliers behind New Zealand’s food, beverage and grocery brands, and a range of companies that support them.
Before joining NZFGC, Raewyn held senior leadership roles at Fire and Emergency NZ, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi and in several industry associations including Business Central.
Since late 2019, Cameron has been the New Zealand Food and Grocery Council Sustainability Chair. In this role Cameron plays a vital role in advancing sustainable practices, fostering collaboration, and driving positive change within the New Zealand food and grocery industry.
Cameron Scott was recently the General Manager for Kimberly-Clark’s New Zealand business, responsible for leading all operations in the country. Prior to this he worked at Fonterra, Lion Nathan and Diageo.
This experience has provided him with a good understanding of the industry and New Zealand’s needs, and what is required to ensure designed initiatives are creating future proofed solutions, across a number of key material groups and industries.
Sandy brings a wealth of retail sector knowledge and transformative change experience to the Recycling Leadership Forum. In her current role as Head of Environmental Social Governance (ESG) at Foodstuffs, Sandy oversees a team supporting Foodstuffs to operationalise ESG priorities across all business units.
Before joining Foodstuffs, Sandy was a Circular Economy Lead for Plastics NZ. These roles build on her training as an environmental lawyer. Sandy is also a current board member of the Waste Management Institute of New Zealand, supporting waste management and minimisation efforts across the country.
Sandy is passionate about helping Aotearoa create a low-emissions circular economy, minimising our impact on the planet while caring for people, communities and future generations.
Ann-Marie brings extensive experience in executive leadership, stakeholder relations and communications to the Recycling Leadership Forum. As the Manager, Advocacy, Advice & Communications for Retail NZ, Ann-Marie works on behalf of businesses that represent approximately two-thirds of retail sector turnover in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Prior to joining Retail New Zealand in 2024, Ann-Marie worked as Communications Manager for Tourism Industry Aotearoa, building a strong track record in the association sector.
She has a passion for supporting New Zealand businesses to fulfil their potential through professional advocacy, providing clear vision and strategy, developing quality partnerships and strong connections. Earlier in her career, Ann-Marie was an award-winning journalist with experience in both New Zealand and Europe.
Alec is the Manager for Resource Recovery at Christchurch City Council and has been involved in the waste sector since the 1990s, in both private and public sector senior leadership roles.
He is a waste sector thought leader and has demonstrated this through his involvement with multiple industry working groups, government reference groups, international working groups, and Waste Management Institute of New Zealand working groups.
Currently Alec is a Technical Advisory Group member for the product stewardship scheme for single use packaging. He also holds a Doctor of Professional Practice where his research area was product stewardship.
Parul is across many aspects of waste in the New Zealand context with an extensive understanding of current recycling policies, kerbside collection systems and recycling challenges. She has more than 20 years of experience in local government in Aotearoa, including as General Manager Waste Solutions at Auckland Council for around five years. In her recent appointment at Auckland Council, she is focussed on building resilience in the region and responding to the impacts of climate change. Her focus is on partnering with communities and organisations to build resilience, assessing current risks and vulnerabilities and future-proofing our infrastructure. Waste minimisation and management remains a critical part of this.
Parul has been the chairperson of the Waste Management Institute of New Zealand since 2023 and is a Steering Committee Member for the Plastics Packaging Product Stewardship Scheme (PPPS). Being involved with the PPPS co-design has given her additional experience in the packaging and recycling sectors.
Harry currently serves as President of Packaging NZ, an organisation that represents the packaging industry as a key sector in the New Zealand economy. Harry is also the Managing Director of Replas NZ, a plastics recycling company dedicated to developing end to end plastic recycling solutions.
Harry brings extensive governance experience to the Recycling Leadership Forum. He currently serves on the board of Ngāti Kuri Trust Board Incorporated and is a co-chair of Te Kahu o Taonui - Te Tai Tokerau Iwi Chairs Collective. Harry is also the Chairman of the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute (trading as Te Puia) which is the third most visited tourist attraction in Aotearoa New Zealand.
As CEO of the Packaging Forum, Rob works to progress the vision that all packaging in New Zealand will be reusable, recyclable or compostable. Rob has played a critical role in establishing drop off recycling options for soft plastics, food and beverage cartons, and caps and lids across New Zealand.
Before joining The Packaging Forum, Rob had an extensive career in the wine industry. Rob currently serves as the Project Manager for the Plastic Packaging Product Stewardship scheme.
Daniel has 15 years’ experience in senior management roles within the waste and recycling industry in both New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Currently he is the New Zealand Business Development Manager for Re.Group - one of Australia and New Zealand’s leading recycling companies, who build, owns and operates recycling facilities. He has also previously worked for Enviro NZ, Auckland Council and Green Gorilla. Daniel is looking forward to sharing his knowledge and insights with the Recycling Leadership Forum and support Aotearoa New Zealand’s transition towards a circular economy.
Chris has over 30 years of experience in the waste industry in business development, project and contract management and senior management roles.
Chris joined Enviro NZ in 2007 and is currently the General Manager of Special Projects while also leading the Environmental Division. Prior to this he worked at Waste Management NZ and Pacific Waste Management in Australia. Chris is well connected across the recycling industry, including local and central government. He currently coordinates the Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) Operators Group, which consists of public- and private-sector representatives from across the country.
The forum meets approximately every six to eight weeks. A short summary for each forum meeting is shown below.
This was the first meeting of the Recycling Leadership Forum (RLF). The key focus for the meeting was to outline the purpose of the group and to provide an opportunity for members to introduce themselves.
The Ministry for the Environment (MfE) outlined the background and purpose for the RLF and provided an overview of the proposed Terms of Reference. The roles and responsibilities of MfE, forum members, and the Independent Chair were agreed upon as part of this discussion and MfE proposed a process for appointing the Independent Chair. MfE agreed to circulate a draft Forward Work Programme before the RLF’s second meeting.
The intention of forming a New Zealand Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) Advisory Group was discussed. This group would serve as a formal link between the RLF and the ARL.
Three initial focus materials were identified for discussion in subsequent meetings: aerosols, caps and lids, and thresholds for complex fibre (fibre packaging with linings or other non-fibre components).
MfE provided an update on progress to appoint an Independent Chair. A subcommittee was formed to support the selection process. The meeting one minutes were confirmed. Further discussion took place on the Terms of Reference and MfE presented the forum with a proposed forward work programme for discussion. MfE agreed to revise these documents to incorporate member feedback. Members agreed that a key deliverable of the RLF would be a roadmap report, outlining pathways forward for focus materials.
Three focus topics were discussed. These were: aerosols, caps and lids, and thresholds for complex fibre (fibre packaging with linings or other non-fibre components). This initial discussion was to raise the associated issues for each material with the intention of more in-depth discussions to take place in subsequent meetings. Three subgroups were formed to further investigate the recycling challenges and opportunities for each material. The subgroups agreed to progress their work in advance of the RLF’s third meeting.
The meeting two minutes and the Forward Work Programme were confirmed. It was agreed that the confidentiality clauses of the Terms of Reference should be amended to ensure RLF members can communicate and engage with their sectors as intended. An update on work to appoint a RLF Independent Chair was also provided.
Membership of the New Zealand ARL Advisory Group was announced. The New Zealand ARL Advisory Group will provide New Zealand specific input to the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO), when APCO considers changes to the New Zealand ARL.
Three focus materials were discussed: aerosols, caps and lids, and thresholds for complex fibre (fibre packaging with linings or other non-fibre components). The aerosols subgroup provided an update on their work to investigate the challenges and opportunities associated with collection and recycling. For caps and lids, the Packaging Forum discussed their recent launch of a drop off Caps and Lids Recycling Scheme. Further RLF discussions will cover learnings from this scheme as next steps for caps and lids recycling are considered. Complex fibre thresholds were discussed at a high level and will be revisited in more detail at meeting four.
MfE introduced and welcomed the new Independent Chair Rachel Reese, and meeting three minutes were confirmed.
The first hour of the meeting covered updates related to aerosols, a proposal to consider batteries alongside aerosols, and work to establish an Aotearoa ARL Advisory Group (AAAG). Complex fibres noted no substantive progress due to the need to consider alongside threshold discussions happening within the Australian context.
It was noted that the next step for the aerosols subgroup is to hold a meeting with Material Recovery Facility (MRF) operators to discuss barriers to recycling aerosols and possible mitigations.
The RLF discussed the critical issue of lithium-ion batteries making their way into recovery and waste streams. The forum recognised the update from Australia and will keep up to date on this issue. Including lithium-ion batteries in the work programme was decided against, but agreed that the RLF should seek to support the WasteMINZ batteries working group and stay across the work being led by this group. The RLF agreed that batteries while causing issues in kerbside collections are outside the RLF’s focus on materials accepted, or potentially accepted, in kerbside recycling. The RLF noted there is an opportunity when MRF’s are considering health and safety measures for aerosols to ensure these are also adequate for batteries.
MfE had received correspondence from New Zealand retailers regarding the ARL in New Zealand . Background on the ARL in NZ was provided to the RLF and MfE noted that the current situation remained unchanged. The RLF discussed the formation and operating model of an Aotearoa ARL Advisory Group (AAAG) including representation and managing conflicts of interest. The RLF confirmed it wishes the AAAG to regularly report into the RLF so members can have oversight of this work. MfE to provide an update on meaning of ‘delivery partner’ and respond to correspondence and update RLF. All parties to continue to work on resolving a way forward so AAAG can undertake the work required and report back to RLF.
The substantive discussion focused on the RLF’s progress and direction, to reach key outcomes and deliverables. The next meeting will further discuss how to deliver the materials recommendation reports and the potential for a forward-looking roadmap in parallel.
The meeting began with a summary of the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) meeting, which took place prior to the RLF meeting with RLF members in attendance. The meeting was centred around governance and operation of the ARL in New Zealand .
The primary focus of RLF Meeting 5 was to workshop progress against completion of material reports by the end of May 2025. The material reports aim to capture the sectors views, consideration of options for managing materials and associated costs, benefits and recommendations. The subgroups have made varying progress on recommendations, which is expected with the complexity of the materials that are being considered (aerosols, caps and lids, and complex fibre) and the overarching system.
Key progress to date for the aerosols subgroup was a meeting with MRF operators in January to seek agreement on the challenges to aerosols recycling and how these could be overcome. Further discussion is needed to inform draft recommendations ahead of the next RLF meeting.
The caps and lids subgroup are on track to present a draft report by the next RLF meeting assessing 4-5 possible options. It was also noted that the lids and caps drop-off pilot is going well so far, with reprocessors happy with the cleanliness of caps received. The project is aiming for 80% access across the country.
The complex fibre work, specifically looking at the secondary material thresholds for fibre, is moving along at a slower pace due to the need to prioritise where effort is placed. It was clarified that this work is partly around providing greater clarity around recyclability thresholds for complex fibre products (eg, paper lined with plastic), which informs labelling requirements.
A report on the soft plastics kerbside collections trial taking place in Nelson is expected from The Packaging Forum in May 2025 which will provide insight to the RLF.
The Ministry for the Environment (MfE) provided an overview of the Government’s waste strategy and work programme recently published on its website. Officials also discussed the likely process to consider trials under the standard materials policy noting that formal guidance is being developed alongside policy thinking around how future additions to the standard materials list should be considered (eg, go live date for any changes, criteria for consideration etc).
Following the previous Recycling Leadership Forum (RLF) resolution, the RLF chair wrote to the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) to arrange an initial meeting between RLF chair, MfE, and APCO to progress discussions around how the Australasian Recycling Label works within the New Zealand market. The forum discussed how the mechanics of a new structure may work, and the need for communications to both industry and the public.
The main discussion was on progress towards the May deadline of the material reports on aerosols, caps and lids, and secondary material thresholds for complex fibre (formerly known as complex fibre). The outcomes of the soft plastics trial in Nelson were also discussed although this trial is independent to the RLF. Time constraints and level of detail require ongoing management by subgroups in determining key recommendations in draft sub-group reports.
The forum will have an in-person meeting at the end of April and agreed to an additional meeting at the end of May when reports are due to be finalised.
Meeting 7 was held in-person in Wellington. With the first term of the RLF coming to an end within the month, the Ministry presented a proposal and process for a second term, and sought input from members.
The first substantive discussion was on the governance arrangements of the ARL in New Zealand. The Ministry provided updates since the last meeting such as meetings with APCO, and next steps. Announcements on this will be released soon.
In previous meetings members queried about possible funding for extensive cost and benefit analysis for recommendations they are putting forward in their report. It was indicated this might be complex, but options were discussed.
Subgroups for the three priority material reports (caps and lids, secondary material thresholds for complex fibre, and aerosols) updated on the reports progress which are due end of May 2025. The need for collaboration across all three was a major theme, along with public awareness and behaviour change.
Due to the overlapping fire risk, health and safety, insurance issues of aerosols and batteries, and recent news of the fire at The Abilities Group plant in Glenfield Auckland, batteries were revisited as an urgent issue. Although the cause of the fire is unknown, the forum members have been tracking the frequent risks that batteries pose to the health and safety of workers, infrastructure, the environment, and the recycling system and raised the need for collaboration across industry and cross-government.
If you have any questions about the Recycling Leadership Forum please email recyclingleadershipforum@mfe.govt.nz.