Product stewardship accreditation

Accreditation of a product stewardship scheme is a form of endorsement by the Government. It means that the Minister has approved the scheme under the Waste Management Act 2008.

To accredit a product stewardship scheme, the Minister for the Environment must be satisfied that the scheme:

• is likely to promote waste minimisation, or
• will reduce the environmental harm from disposing of the product and
• does not cause greater environmental harm throughout the product life cycle.

Product stewardship increases the responsibilities of manufacturers, importers, retailers and consumers/users to better manage end-of-life products and create incentives for circular resource use. The WMA provides for accreditation of schemes by the Minister for the Environment, focusing on waste reduction and measuring environmental impact.

If a priority product(s) will be included in your proposed scheme you will need to complete the priority product form.

All applications must be made using the appropriate forms. If a priority product(s) is included in your proposed scheme you will need to complete the priority product form.  An example of this could be a product that the scheme will also process associated plastic packaging (as plastic packaging has been declared a priority product). 

Submitted applications are reviewed and assessed before recommendations are provided to the Minister. The Minister for the Environment ultimately decides if an application for accreditation is approved.

Summary of assessment criteria

For priority products

If your application includes a priority product(s) in your proposed scheme it must be consistent with the General Guidelines for Product Stewardship Schemes for Priority Products Notice 2020 [NZ Gazette website].

We recommend you:

• meet all the requirements in the self-assessment checklist in appendix A of the Product stewardship accreditation application form - Guide for applicants (in either guide) before you submit your application. Schemes that do not meet all the requirements are unlikely to be successful.
• contact us when you start the process. We are here to help.

If your scheme addresses one (or more) of the priority products complete the:

• Product stewardship accreditation application form: Priority products.

If your scheme does not address a priority product complete the:

• Product stewardship accreditation application form: Voluntary products.

Please use the following guides to help you complete the appropriate accreditation form:

• Product stewardship accreditation guide for applicants: Priority products
• Product stewardship accreditation guide for applicants: Voluntary products.

For further advice or to send your completed application, email PSAccreditation@mfe.govt.nz.