Hazardous Waste

The Ministry for the Environment states there is a significant risk to human health and the environment if hazardous wastes are improperly managed. ⁴³⁰⁴  New Zealand is party to international environmental agreements related to the import and export of hazardous waste which are designed to prevent harm to human health and the environment. ⁴³⁰⁵  A permit must be obtained before waste that is defined as hazardous is imported to, or exported from New Zealand.

The Ministry for the Environment have complied “Guidelines for the Management of Hazardous Waste” to provide guidance on best practice hazardous waste management for handlers of hazardous waste. Module 2 “Landfill Waste Acceptance Criteria and Landfill Classification” is designed to be implemented through the resource consent process.

Types of Waste

Waste is classified into four general catagories:

• Natural, inert waste
• Municipal solid waste
• Industrial waste
• Hazardous waste.

Disposing of waste - landfills

Landfills are facilities for the controlled disposal of waste into or onto land.  Under the RMA they must have consent conditions which are appropriate to the material they accept. 

A cleanfill is a landfill that only accepts waste that will not harm peope or the environment put on or into land.   Cleanfill material includes virgin natural materials such as clay, soil and rock.  It is free of inter alia combustible, potentially hazardous substances and products derived from hazardous waste treatment. ⁴³⁰⁶

The severity of restriction on the design, siting, operating and monitoring of the landfills used for the disposal the other waste types depend on which waste type it is intended to dispose of.  For example, restrictions and requirements on landfills for hazardous waste will be considerably more stringent than for landfills accepting only municipal solids. ⁴³⁰⁷

Transport

There is an Industry generated non- statutory code of practice for the transport of liquid waste and hazardous waste from the generator to a treatment and/or disposal point.  The Liquid and Hazardous Waste Operators Certification Council oversee a national audit and certification scheme for operators based on adherence to the code.

Planning controls

Whilst there are no overarching statutory controls aimed specifically at hazardous wastes on land, under the RMA regional and territorial authorities are empowered to create planning controls on any actual or potential effects of the use, development, or protection of land, including for the purpose of - the prevention or mitigation of any adverse effects of the storage, use, disposal, or transportation of hazardous substances. ⁴³⁰⁸  Similar control is given to regional councils in regard to the coastal marine area including the dumping and incineration of waste, ⁴³⁰⁹  the discharge of harmful substances from ships or offshore installations and prohibitions to dump or store any radioactive waste or other radioactive matter or toxic or hazardous waste on or in any land or water. ⁴³¹⁰

Under the Local Government Act 2002 district and city councils must develop a waste management plan ⁴³¹¹  for their communities to manage waste disposal, waste treatment and waste reduction options like recycling. A 2008 Ministry for the Environment factsheet on waste states “It has been estimated that around 10 per cent of the waste we dispose of to landfill is hazardous waste.” ⁴³¹²

The HSNO Act does not include a separate definition for hazardous waste and it is expected that the requirements for approvals to be held by the person in possession of hazardous substances above specified quantities (under the HSNO regulations) will apply. ⁴³¹³

The Act provides for enforcement by suitably qualified officers, whom may serve compliance orders, ⁴³¹⁴  or infringement notices ⁴³¹⁵  and the act contains a number of offences ⁴³¹⁶  with maximum penalties of up to $500,000 and imprisonment for a maximum of 3 months. ⁴³¹⁷

Last updated at 10:55AM on November 27, 2015