 Well we know many of you were busy over the Christmas holiday period having a big clean-out because at Wastebusters it was manic! Thank you for your patience on those big days when you had to wait in a queue to off-load your stuff. A lot of people have gone back to work now and things are a bit quieter. We encourage you to bring your unwanted or updated gifts to our shop, Mahu Mall to recycle them and give someone else the pleasure of owning them. Or come and have a browse - you may find just what you're looking for - from furniture to household or garden items. We especially encourage you to drop off your e-waste: old computers, phones, photo-copiers, TVs etc. There is a small charge for this, but it is highly important these are disposed of properly because they can contain hazardous materials which need special treatments in order to keep the process of recycling environmentally friendly. They can also contain valuable minerals like gold. At Wastebusters we send e-waste down to Abilities in Auckland who do a thorough and proper job of dis-assembly, Abilities is a non-profit, incorporated society dedicated to enriching the lives of people with disabilities through meaningful work. Abilities are holders of a Basel Permit to export printed circuit boards to Japan for processing to extract the precious metals. This reduces the dependency on under ground mining for the same resources. So come on down to Wastebusters with your e-waste. At Lawrie Rd we're open Thursday to Sunday, and at Rustybrook in Wellsford we're open Wednesday and Saturday. 
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 Heading off to the beach this summer? Whether you're going boating, having a picnic or going camping, take care of our beautiful natural environment by taking care of your waste.  Last chance today to make your submission on phasing out a list of the worst of the single-use plastics. Take 5 minutes - do it now! Click here: https://consult.environment.govt.nz/waste/plastics/  Proposal one is a phase out of hard-to-recycle plastic types like polyvinyl chloride (plastic type 3) food and beverage packaging, polystyrene food and beverage packaging and expanded polystyrene (plastic type 6), and all oxo-degradable plastic items.
Proposal two seeks feedback on phasing-out more single-use plastic items like produce bags, drink stirrers, non-compostable fruit stickers, tableware, some cups and their lids, cotton buds, and straws. There's heaps more information on the link above if you want to delve deep into it.  Mahurangi Wastebusters is delighted to be working with Conscious Kids to present a pop-up adventure playground event in Wellsford's Centennial Park on Saturday 12 December. Kids have the opportunity to get creative with a whole lot of 'loose parts' i.e. junk, that has been rescued from landfill by Mahurangi Wastebusters.
Conscious Kids have been running these events all over Auckland and kids have enormous amounts of fun creating huts, carts, marble runs and much more out of junk. Check out this video: https://www.consciouskids.co.nz/junk-play So parents, bring your kids along and hang out with them having fun with loose parts! This event is sponsored by Auckland Council.   We are excited to announce we have started our compost project - turning waste from our community into beautiful compost which will be for sale in a few months' time. We are collecting compostable waste from the Matakana Farmers Market, tea from Daily Organics Kombucha brewery, green waste and food scraps, and layering it up with carbon material for a balanced compost. Anna Proctor and Ewan Briggs, our compost team, can be seen here putting a batch together. Matakana Farmers Market has been a zero waste market since day one and were previously sending their waste all the way down to Tuakau to be composted, so we are stoked to be able to reduce the compost miles and process it right here in our community.   We are using The Carbon Cycle Co. compost boxes which are super efficient. A single Carbon Cycle composter can convert over 5 tons of organic matter into compost per year. Good for the atmosphere Good for the planet Good for the people Special Offer - drop off your food scraps for free at our Lawrie Rd Recycling Centre for the first 6 months! So if you're bringing a load of stuff over, bring your food scraps as well (but no rotten fish please!)  Collection box at the Matakana Farmers Market
 Not being a sewer, I had a go at making a face mask from a pretty sock with a nice pink heal like I'd seen on the internet. The first time I wore it my friends hooted with laughter! So much for my efforts at creativity! But luckily I have very talented and helpful friends who have made me some beautiful washable face masks using scraps of fabric from the very successful Fabric Rescue we held in Matakana in July. Thank you Sue Monk and Yuka. Sue also made a selection of fabric face masks for our staff at our Lawrie Rd and Rustybrook Rd Recycling Centres. Not only are they more comfortable to wear but they are SO much better for our environment. There's heaps of patterns on line. And you actually don't even need to sew a mask - you can make one out of a scarf or hankerchief and a couple of rubber banks. Check out Nanogirl's video showing us how https://zcu.io/ifNK  How many disposable masks have you started to see lying around in the environment? I came across a few lying in the gutters on my morning walk yesterday. I'm sure they weren't deliberately dropped, but mostly likely blown away or lost. Disposable masks can only be used once and then need to be safely disposed of to landfill. They cannot be recycled - they contaminate recycling bins. And they cannot be flushed down the toilet either as they can cause a breakdown of our waste water and sewage system. Instead, they need to go into household rubbish, preferably wrapped in newspaper. This is especially important in the times of Covid19. Better still, make your own, even if it looks silly like my pink nose job!  Not much growing in the garden? Try growing some sprouts in a jar. So easy to grow and ready in a few days. Convenient, nutritious, fresh, zero waste and zero food miles. No special equipment needed – just a glass jar, a piece of cloth and a rubber band. Mung beans and lentil seeds work well for sprouting and can be economically purchased from bulk bin stores and there are some great tutorials on line. Bin Inn in Warkworth is open under Level 3 lockdown from 9 - 3 pm. During Level 4 lockdown I think we all realised just how important community food resilience is! Having some food growing at home is extremely valuable. I have quite a big garden with lots of fruit trees, so am self-sufficient for fruit and vege over lockdown. Not everyone can have a garden but even a few veges or herbs in a pot or on a windowsill are a great resource for a household. Or grow some microgreens in a seed tray.    New Zealand has a waste problem. We are disposing more and more waste into landfill.
Good news - the Government has just confirmed its plans to increase and expand the waste disposal levy over the next few years to divert material from landfill. It will use the revenue gathered from the waste levy for resource recovery and waste minimisation. This decision follows wide public consultation which supports this plan. A bit of background: In 2008 the Government passed the Waste Minimisation Act which included a Waste Levy. That meant that any waste sent to landfill incurred a charge of $10 per tonne. This charge is ludicrously low. Across the ditch in Australia, depending on the State, the waste levy is over $100/ tonne and in Europe it is much much more. This money goes into a fund that is available for waste minimisation initiatives in communties. So far it has funded some amazing projects. So zero wasters are celebrating the New Zealand government's decision to raise the waste in New Zealand over the next few years to $60 per tonne, because there will be much more money available for waste minimisation initiatives. This will enable clever waste miniimisation ideas across the country to be supported, for example cardboard and plastic recycling plants and community resource recovery facilities. And in doing so, it will grow jobs, promote recycling and lower carbon emissions. A cause for celebration! The Ministry for the Environment says "Increasing and expanding the levy will help recognise the real costs of waste, make it fairer for everyone and incentivise materials reuse and recycling rather than just ‘taking it to the tip’. The proposed levy increases are likely to have a minimal impact on a family’s weekly budget. The Ministry for the Environment estimates that when fully implemented, the new levy could increase the cost of the weekly council kerbside rubbish bag by about 25c, depending on individual council decisions." |
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