18622 (2025). Hon Dr Duncan Webb to the Minister for the Environment

18622 (2025). Hon Dr Duncan Webb to the Minister for the Environment: What advice (if any) has the minister received since her appointment in relation to the timing of the prohibition on the sale of plastic produce labels originally set to come in on 1 July under the Waste Minimisation (Plastic and Related Products) Regulations 2022?

Hon Penny Simmonds: In March 2024 I received a briefing from the Ministry for the Environment (the Ministry) about next steps for hard-to-recycle and single-use plastics phase outs which contained some advice on produce labels. In August 2024, I received a briefing from Ministry officials which outlined stakeholder concerns regarding the 1 July 2025 requirement for all produce labels (except those intended for export) to be certified home compostable. The briefing highlighted that key trading partners had not yet implemented similar regulations and that there was only one company selling a label that met the home compostability standard. In September 2024 I received advice from the Waste Advisory Board in relation to this issue. In November 2024 I received a briefing from Ministry officials to support a Cabinet paper about changes to the Waste and Resource Efficiency Work Programme which included advice regarding produce labels. In January 2025 I received the draft Cabinet paper and associated briefing from Ministry officials that would enable me to take the Amendment Regulations to Cabinet.