Proposed product stewardship regulations for agrichemicals, their containers, and farm plastics

Closes 1 Jun 2025

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4. Responsibilities of participants under the proposed regulations

There is 1 question that can be answered within section 4.

You can read section 4 and the question either:

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Table 5 shows the proposed regulated responsibilities of key participants, as well as the voluntary actions they may take under the proposed regulatory option.

The regulated parties would be the accredited scheme manager, and those that sell and distribute in-scope agrichemicals and farm plastics. Farmers and growers would not be regulated.

15. If you had to take part in the proposed regulated scheme, how would this affect your business?

Table 5: Responsibilities under proposed regulations - HTML format

Participants

Responsibilities

Optional voluntary actions

Producers (first entry to market) of Category 1 products35

Brand owners, domestic manufacturers, importers

Sell in accordance with the scheme as follows.

  • Register with the scheme.
  • Report to the scheme their quarterly volumes placed on the market.
  • Pay to the scheme the stewardship fees for their products.
  • Keep records of fee payments and provide these to the Ministry on request.
  • Encourage their customers to engage with the scheme.
  • Encourage innovation of packaging and product design to reduce mixed polymers36 and improve labelling for ease of recycling.

Distributors of Category 1 products

Wholesalers, retailers, farm contractors

None
  • Actively engage with and promote the scheme to their customers and suppliers.
  • Provide collection sites as negotiated with the scheme.
  • Inform the PSO of Category 1 product brands they distribute.

Producers (first entry to market) of Category 2 and Category 3 products37

Brand owners, domestic manufacturers, importers

None
  • Participate in field trials for the take-back and recycling of those products, and contribute to field trial costs as negotiated with the scheme.
  • Encourage their customers to engage with the scheme.
  • Encourage innovation of packaging and product design to reduce mixed polymers and improve labelling for ease of recycling.

Distributors of Category 2 and Category 3 products

Wholesalers, retailers, farm contractors

None
  • Actively engage with and promote the scheme to their customers and suppliers.
  • Provide collection sites for trials as negotiated with the scheme.

PSO
  • Meet scheme objectives within the proposed timeframes and regularly report as specified in accreditation application.
  • Manage the scheme, including collection of fees and provision of take-back and recycling services in line with regulations.
  • Collect specified information and provide this to the Ministry on request.
  • Pay monitoring fee to the Ministry.
  • Encourage innovation of packaging and product design to reduce mixed polymers and improve labelling for ease of recycling.
  • Develop additional agrichemical and farm plastic take-back systems and fees, and propose for future regulation.

Consumers

Farmers, growers, other product users

None
  • Take unwanted regulated products to a collection site, or use on-farm collection service if available.
  • Select farm contractors that actively support the scheme.
  • For dairy farmers, participate in Fonterra’s Co-operative Difference scheme,38 and inform the accredited scheme about their participation.

Others

Collection site managers, collectors, transporters, recyclers

Fulfil any contractual obligations with the accredited scheme (existing responsibility, not introduced by the regulations).
  • Actively engage with and promote the scheme to customers and suppliers.

35 The products in Category 1 are: agrichemicals sold in plastic containers and drums, of 1,000 litres or less (including household pest and weed control products); plastic bale wrap and silage sheet; small plastic bags (40 kilograms or less when full); bulk woven polypropylene bags (over 40 kilograms when full).

36 Products made of mixed plastic types are more difficult to recycle.

37 The products in Category 2 are: irrigation piping, shrink/pallet wrap, tunnel house covers, wool fadges, and potted plant pots. The products in Category 3 are: vineyard netting, hail netting and other coverings.

38 For more information, see Fonterra. Together we make the difference. Retrieved 21 March 2025.