Resource use and waste generation in Aotearoa - filling some gaps

In the next stage of the PCE's investigation into resource use and waste generation in New Zealand, the office has released a research note entitled, Resource use and waste generation in Aotearoa New Zealand – filling (some) gaps.

The note summarises five pieces of research commissioned by the PCE to fill information gaps that were identified during the first stage of the investigation.

Key findings from the research note include:

• 107 million tonnes of natural resources were required to produce goods and services consumed by New Zealanders in 2019, approximately 21 tonnes per person on average.

• Four basics – food, housing, infrastructure and mobility – accounted for 72% of natural resource use. 

• Around 60% of the resources consumed in New Zealand were extracted overseas and imported. Data suggests the share of our resource needs imported from other countries has increased over recent decades. 

• 130–135 million tonnes of natural resources were extracted from New Zealand (excluding water), one third of these resources were consumed here, while the rest were exported either as raw commodities (e.g. logs or coal) or ‘embedded’ within processed products (e.g. meat or steel). 

Datasets generated by the commissioned research are available on request.