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On July 1, New Zealand's Ministry for the Environment (MFE) released a public consultation document Managing the Trade in Mercury and Mercury Products, and started seeking information and feedback from retailers, consumers, importers, exporters, and the general public.
The consultation focuses on two goals, one is to introduce a permitting system for trade in mercury, and the other is to prohibit the sale, manufacture, import, and export of certain products containing mercury. The restrictions will be implemented based on the following regulatory changes:
ban the manufacture and sale of specific mercury products by making new regulations under the Waste Minimisation Act 2008;
ban the import and export of specific mercury products by amending regulations under the Imports and Exports (Restrictions) Act 1988.
The proposed regulations would prevent harmful mercury in certain batteries, switches and relays, lamps, and non-electronic measuring devices, which will bring New Zealand into line with international standards. Besides, New Zealand is considering adopting the import and export rules for mercury under the Minimata Convention. The rules that determine when the import and export may be approved are described in the appendixes of the full consultation document.
MFE states that the current levels of mercury in New Zealand are low and have been declining for a number of years, so the restrictions may not bring a huge impact on the local industry. But there is a need to act now as there are no known safe levels of mercury in humans.
After the consultation concluded, MoE will refine the proposed amendments taking account of the feedback received and make recommendations to the Minister for the Environment. The new regulations are expected to be completed by mid-2021.
