5515 (2025). Hon Rachel Brooking to the Minister for the Environment

5515 (2025). Hon Rachel Brooking to the Minister for the Environment: What steps, if any, has she taken to address the increasing risk of battery fires in waste management facilities?

Hon Penny Simmonds: In 2024, I established the Recycling Leadership Forum, a cross-sectoral group spanning manufacturers, brands, retailers, local government and the recycling sector. At their recent February meeting, they agreed that supporting the industry work already underway with WasteMINZ would be pragmatic and avoid duplication to address the increasing risk of battery fires in waste management facilities. As the peak industry body, WasteMINZ has collated information from its members, producing data to support the scale of the problem. I am considering what actions to take, if any, in conjunction with the development of a product stewardship scheme for electrical and electronic products including batteries.