The Government announced today it will allocate $40 million to go towards recycling projects in the regions.
Regional Economic Minister Shane Jones said officials are seeking out "investment-ready proposals of significant scale in regional locations close to our main urban centres where much of the plastic waste is generated". The $40 million will come from the Provincial Growth Fund.
"The funding will be used to invest in projects that convert waste, including plastic waste, into materials and products useful to businesses and consumers," he said.
Many supermarket chains have already phased them out.
"The volume of waste going to landfills has increased by 20 per cent since 2008 and it is time we increased our support for ways of reducing this flow of material.
"A high proportion of this waste, particularly recyclable plastic waste, has other uses and can be converted into new products."
Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage said that "tonnes of plastic, fibre, organic materials, e-waste and construction materials are currently going to landfill as waste".
The Associate Environment Minister said the Government will adopt all recycling recommendations in response to China’s ban.
"If more materials are recovered and re-used here in New Zealand, we can help our economy shift from its current ‘take, make and waste’ approach to one that designs waste out of production," she said.
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