Summer 08 Newsletter

Read another story.... Markets - keep recycling Sue's view Top Tips for Waste Reduction Waste Check Ups Tips from Dr. Compost Which Compost System Should I Use? --------------- Summer 2008 Spring 2008 Autumn 2008 Christmas 2007 Winter 2007

Waste Check Ups

As part of the 50% campaign, we’re offering free waste check-ups to ten businesses and twenty households. They’re a chance to get two of our team to your place, to put all their energy into helping you out. They’re not there to judge, they’re just there to spread the love and their knowledge about recycling and composting.

When you ring up to get a household check, our staff will arrange a half an hour appointment to come to your place and go through your rubbish. You will have to keep your rubbish and recycling for a week until they arrive – no cheating, it has to be just the way you’d normally do it.

When they arrive, they spread out a tarp and tip it all out. The whole lot gets weighed, and then Jo or Angus will go through it with gloves on it. As they go, they’ll make some suggestions which might include things like buying in bulk, rinsing and reusing containers, recycling plastics 3 to 7 or separating food waste. They can also advise you on how to access more information about composting or recycling.

The Ayres’ family from Wanaka were pleased to find out that of the total 17kg of waste their family had collected in a week, they had put 7kg into their recycling crate. An extra 1kg of recyclable paper and plastic packaging had snuck into their rubbish bin. Their most surprising discovery was that their rubbish contained 8kg of food waste.

Carole Ayres was keen to start composting, so Jo and Angus arranged for them to get advice from Dr Compost about which kind of composting system would suit them best. The great news was that once they got their composting system up and running, they will be diverting nearly 90 percent of their waste.

Yohei (in Spencer Mall) bravely agreed to be a guinea pig for the first business waste check-up. They already have some great initiatives in place, including composting vegetable and fruit pulp and selling refill coffee mugs. After the waste check-up they decided to look at recycling paper napkins and hand towels, introducing a straw-free day and sourcing reusable sushi boxes that regular customers can refill.

The business waste check-up looks at the way the business currently deals with their waste and the services that Wanaka Wastebusters can offer to help. It includes assessing what type of recycling containers would suit the business, and whether it would be better to drop-off or have a business truck pick-up.

After looking at what comes in and what goes out of the business, our staff can make some helpful suggestions. They might be along the lines of switching from plastic to paper/cardboard, separating food waste, asking suppliers if they can reduce packaging or filling reusable coffee cups.