Waste affects all areas of the environment but these pages will focus on land-based waste.
Solid waste is managed in a variety of facilities.
Household and garden rubbish, material from construction sites, old machinery and appliances, anything solid generally goes to a landfill. There are still a number of substandard landfills operating in New Zealand, eg. Cleanfills are landfills that are only permitted to accept waste that does not pose a risk to people or the environment. Cleanfills can only take inert wastes, ie wastes that do not undergo any significant physical, chemical or biological reactions. Inert wastes are materials like clay, soil, rock, concrete and bricks.