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| Hospitality Magazine column The economic and ecological disposal of waste Members of Parliament are continuing to address how much regulatory intervention there should be in disposal of our waste and where the responsibility should fall. The government are proposing to significantly amend Nandor Tanczos’s Bill called the Waste Minimisation (Solids) Amendment Bill. While this amendment removes some of more the draconian bureaucracy from the original Bill it still retains significant regulatory powers in the hands of the Minister. The Tourism Strategy released late last year focuses on the importance of sustainability as a cornerstone in the tourism industry’s future. How, where and in what quantities waste is disposed of will be an important consideration in how well New Zealand achieves its objective in positioning the New Zealand tourism industry as among the most sustainable in the world. Being sustainable also means being economically viable. There is little point in being the purest country in the world but having businesses which are not economically sustainable. New Zealand tourism businesses already suffer from low yields and profitability. It is critically important that waste minimisation and disposable is both ecologically sound and economically sensible. In its submission to the Select Committee the Hospitality Association has strongly argued that all regulatory measures should be subject to robust cost benefit analysis. This should include both the economic and ecological efficiency of any proposals. Recycling is a good example as while it is now widely seen as the right thing to do there may be occasions when endeavouring to recycle some products actually results in a higher carbon footprint than judicious disposal at a landfill. Minimising our waste as a hospitality industry is important but regulating this disposal without ensuring it is both economically and ecologically sustainable doesn’t make sense. If Cabinet is to have the power to regulate they should be constrained to do so on sound evidence that produce economic and ecological benefits. Bruce H Robertson |
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