KEY POINTS:
On the eve of World Environment Day the Environment Ministry has been forced to admit an embarrassing blunder that has led to the recall of 20,000 brochures.
National Party environment spokesman Nick Smith today highlighted the recall of the "25 easy steps to sustainability" booklet and questioned how much it had cost taxpayers.
The 15-page booklet, which was to have been handed out around the country on Environment Day, incorrectly stated that hot water should be 55degC at the cylinder and not more than 50degC at the tap.
However the Building Code says it should be 60degC at the cylinder, to reduce the likelihood of legionella bacteria, and not more than 55degC at the tap.
Dr Smith said the "embarrassing botchup" would create waste.
But an Environment Ministry spokesman said the brochures were being kept and stickers used to correct the mistake, meaning there would be no waste.
The error was identified and brochures were recalled last week, with the mistake notified on the sustainability.govt.nz website.
He said some of the brochures had already been corrected and would be available to the public tomorrow.
New Zealand will be central focus for the United Nations World Environment Day tomorrow, which has the theme of "Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy".
Each year since 1972, the UN chooses one environmental theme and this year it wanted to recognise that "climate change is becoming the defining issue of our era".
- NZPA
