OIA 719-21
OIAM-62
22 July 2021
Matthew Hooton
[FYI request #15868 email]
Dear Matthew Hooton
Thank you for your email of 22 June 2021 requesting the following under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act):
Under the OIA, I request all written advice you have received as Minister for the
Environment since 1 January 2021 on:
1) human rights, labour standards and environmental issues associated with the
mining of cobalt, lithium, nickel and other rare earth metals required for the
batteries of electric vehicles
2) how batteries required for electric vehicles will be recycled or disposed of in
New Zealand over the next 30 years, and in what volumes, and how any disposal
sites will be kept safe.
I have not received any written advice on these issues from the Ministry for the Environment
(the Ministry) since 1 January 2021 therefore, I am refusing your request under section 18(e)
of the Act as this information does not exist.
In 2020, the Government announced that e-waste, including electric vehicle (EV) batteries,
wil be one of six products declared ‘priority products’ for regulated product stewardship under
the Waste Minimisation Act 2008. Regulated product stewardship helps put the responsibility
for a product’s life-cycle and waste management on manufacturers, imports, retailers and
users, rather than on communities, council, neighbours and nature.
Declaring a priority product means a product stewardship scheme must be developed and
accredited for the product as soon as practicable, and a regulation can be made requiring
producer/seller participation in the accredited priority scheme.
A co-design process to develop a proposed scheme for large batteries (including EV batteries)
has been completed, and its scheme proposal report has been presented to the Ministry for
the Environment for consideration.
More information on the co-design process on large
batteries (including EV batteries) can be found on the Battery Industry Group website
www.big.org.nz.
You can find more information on regulated product stewardship on the Ministry’s website at
environment.govt.nz/what-government-is-doing/areas-of-work/waste/product-
stewardship/regulated-product-stewardship/.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Office of the Ombudsman of my
decision to withhold information relating to this request, in accordance with section 28(3) of
the
Act.
The
relevant
details
can
be
found
on
their
website
at:
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
Please contact my office if you have any queries about this response.
Yours sincerely
Hon David Parker
Minister for the Environment