Issued by 2027 Magazine

There is no off-the-shelf model for farm plastics

Collection Schemes

Author: Tony Wilson, Chief Executive, Agrecovery

New Zealand is moving toward a regulated EPR scheme for agri-plastics and packaging. Agrecovery are giving us an insight on the operations as well as challenges ahead.

One of the useful things about developing a national recycling scheme is that you get to look closely at what other countries are doing. One of the less useful things is discovering that you cannot simply copy any of them. We have spent years looking at agricultural plastics systems overseas, and there is plenty New Zealand can learn from them. But the closer we have come to regulation, the clearer it has become that Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a principle, not an operating manual.

The scheme scope

From 1 March 2027, New Zealand’s Rural Recycling Scheme will bring key rural plastic and agrichemical streams into one regulated national system managed by Agrecovery. Producers of in-scope products will register and pay fees that fund the core take-back service. Farmers and growers can choose to return eligible material without a direct charge at the point of return.

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