The Government has outlined a proposal to tackle New Zealand's waste management.
Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage revealed her plans at the Green Party's annual conference, but National has been quick to slam it as a "tyre tax".
While MP Julie Anne Genter cycled to hospital to give birth on Sunday morning, her colleagues were also busy peddling the Green Party brand.
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"New Zealand has had a rubbish record on waste over the last decade," Ms Sage told the conference. "We want to turn that around, reduce the volume of waste going to landfill."
With China now rejecting millions of kilograms worth of our plastic waste and over 4 million used tyres being dumped annually, New Zealand has developed a serious stockpile situation.
"We've got big tyre stockpiles," Ms Sage said. "They're a fire hazard, an environmental hazard. We want everyone to share in dealing with the problem."
"Sharing" could mean paying, with the Government proposing to roll out the current $10 per tonne levy imposed on council-owned landfills across an extra 380 dumps.
"We have 420 landfills in New Zealand, and the levy only applies to 10 percent of them and about 30 percent of the waste," Ms Sage said.
"So by putting the levy on more landfills, the revenue can then be recycled to help councils and businesses reduce waste."
The Ministry for the Environment will also consider making companies that make things like lithium batteries and tyres responsible for recycling them when they're no longer in use.
That cost could be passed on to consumers at the checkout, which National has dubbed a 'tyre tax'. The party's Environment spokesperson Scott Simpson says the rest of the proposal is nothing new.
"The minister has had 10 months in Government and effectively done nothing other than think and talk about it, and today's announcement is really just no announcement."
But Zero Waste advocates says 93 percent of Kiwis support the Government's proposal, and know the extra cost will pay off in economic development.
"It's brilliant - it's going to be $2.5 billion into the economy over the next five years," says Zero Waste chair Marty Hoffart.
"It's $500 million a year - this is big news."
Newshub.
