Resource use and waste generation in Aotearoa - filling some gaps
In the next stage of the PCE's investigation into resource use and waste generation in New Zealand, the office has released a research note entitled, Resource use and waste generation in Aotearoa New Zealand – filling (some) gaps.
The note summarises five pieces of research commissioned by the PCE to fill information gaps that were identified during the first stage of the investigation. This research covers plastic waste, metal requirements for the green energy transition, soil vulnerabilities, the environmental pressures of resource use and New Zealand’s natural resource use on a consumptive basis.
The research into consumptive resource use enabled the PCE to produce New Zealand’s most comprehensive natural resource footprint to date. The footprint includes both resources extracted domestically, and those used in the production of imported goods and services in 2019.
In the final stage of this investigation, the Commissioner will release a full report which considers how resource use and waste might change over the next few decades and what environmental risks might emerge as a result.
Key findings from the research note include:
- 107 million tonnes of natural resources were required to produce goods and services consumed by New Zealanders in 2019, approximately 21 tonnes per person on average.
- Four basics – food, housing, infrastructure and mobility – accounted for 72% of natural resource use.
- Around 60% of the resources consumed in New Zealand were extracted overseas and imported. Data suggests the share of our resource needs imported from other countries has increased over recent decades.
- 130–135 million tonnes of natural resources were extracted from New Zealand (excluding water), one third of these resources were consumed here, while the rest were exported either as raw commodities (e.g. logs or coal) or ‘embedded’ within processed products (e.g. meat or steel).
Datasets generated by the commissioned research are available on request.
Webinar
Join the PCE team to discuss the research note at a webinar on Monday 16 June from 12 - 1.30pm.
Registration required.
Interactive digital summary
Explore the key findings from the research.
