Auckland Climate Plan Goals related to high discarded materials industries

The following are current legislation or Auckland Council Climate Plan goals of relevance to high discarded materials industries.

Already Banned

  • 2022 - PVC food trays & containers, all polystyrene takeaway food & drink packaging, plastic drink stirrers, plastic cotton buds,

  • 2023 - Plastic produce bags, plastic plates, bowls, cutlery and straws, plastic produce labels (like fruit stickers)

Incoming Ban 2025

  • All other PVC and polystyrene food and drink packaging

2030 Aims

  • Ban single-use coffee cups

  • Ban single-use wet wipes

  • Paper/cardboard waste reduced by 30% and 30% of the remaining waste recycled

  • Retrofit 50% of existing and commercial buildings to a high standard of energy efficiency

  • Replace 75% of gas heaters in existing commercial buildings with electric heat pumps

  • Replace 50% of gas water heaters in existing commercial buildings with electric heat pump water heaters

  • 40% of passenger and light commercial vehicles to be electric or zero emission

  • Greenhouse gas emissions reduced by 50%

Issues facing the Industries

Signage and Print Industries

  • Plastic backed paper for all vinyl printing

  • Lots of ink and printing

  • Lots of courier and packaging

  • Get a lot of bubble wrap in deliveries

  • Often changeovers of signs

  • Have high volume of waste

  • Use a lot of ACM which is not recyclable

  • Use chemicals for cleaning before sign applications

  • Use a lot of corflute and polystyrene foam board

  • Need education around recycling/reuse /repurpose opportunities

  • Washroom toilet paper, towels, etc

  • Premises lighting

  • Soft plastic use (eg in packaging)

  • Heat pumps and air conditioning

Construction Sectors

  • Recycling of construction materials

  • Excess of construction materials

  • Excess of packaging materials

  • Waste of how materials received, eg drums for cable

  • Mass of paperwork in Council consents, etc (need full set of print plans on each site)

  • Transport costs/Travel costs

  • Lack of recycling options on a building site

  • Need to reduce waste on building sites/reduce off-cuts, etc

Solutions/Ideas/Links

Undertake a waste audit

Bring in recycle bins if not already doing so and educate staff/contractors (even if not all, some recycling by contractors is better than none at all!)

To avoid over ordering design houses around eco materials for better efficiency and less waste

Be part of a share scheme to share resources either between your own company jobs or with other firms

Separate out metal-based items to send to the scrap metal recyclers in Silverdale

Use refill/recycle print cartridges

Consider if something can be repurposed, advertise on social media, offer to The Men’s Shed to repurpose or CivilShare, TradeMe or made available to demolition companies with good circular recycle systems

Follow good sustainable building practices

Recycle cardboard and other packaging

Send cable drums for recycling

Sell copper and wiring to metal recyclers

Offer plastic backed papers to craft and art classes for repurposing or advertise on social

Track bin receipts to reduce waste

Use environmentally friendly cleaning products, eg InSinc, Ever Daily, etc

Consider offering Katz board as an alternative where appropriate for corflute signage

Large ACM signs can be taken to the WCRC

Polystyrene can be recycled either through WCRC or Abilities on the North Shore

Offer your off-cuts to local artists, classes for reuse

Change light bulbs to LED to save power

Use refillable cleaning capsules/products and containers

Join a share scheme around pick up/drop off certain products to save time, money and petrol, perhaps with a share trailer if required

Put reusable construction items on CivilShare or re-sellable items on TradeMe - check out www.civilshare.co.nz

Ask HCZW for help with estimating your carbon footprint

Hire a rubbish company with an ECNZ Environmental Choice ecolabel, eg Green Gorilla

Consider a 3 bin system on construction sites separating out recyclable materials and cleanfill from the landfill bin

Consider applying to the Auckland Council WMIF grant for help with setting up systems to divert C&D materials from landfill

The Helensville Community Recycling Centre accepts many C&D materials 022 430 3622 helensvillecommunityrecycling@gmail.com

Links

Recycling options for signage materials, backing paper, tape, etc

It has been hard to find options – Waste Management offer business recycling options? https://www.wastemanagement.co.nz/for-business/recycling/

Any paper that's coated in a material like wax, plastic or foil (such as metallic wrapping paper or some Christmas cards) can't be recycled.

 Glossy paper is accepted in all local recycling programs, provided the paper does not have a plastic coating. If the glossy paper is easy to tear, it should be ok. If you're not sure, it's better to be safe and dispose of it in the rubbish.

Waste measuring for construction

Construction and demolition waste is made up of a wide variety of materials, including concrete, plasterboard, wood, steel, brick and glass. Every year, New Zealand industries and households discard over 3 million tonnes of construction and demolition debris to landfills and cleanfills. Averaged across the population, this represents about one tonne per person.

Mangawhai programme: Getting big builders on side to sort materials - find out details

Waste busters - Mark Gains CRC 09 945 3980 manager@mahurangiwaste busters.nz -  Trish Allen - Contact

Demolition companies circular recycle practices

Scrap Metal Collections

https://alexanderscrapmetals.co.nz/ - Website page ‘What we take’ Currently doesn’t seem to work?

Recently introduced through J A Russell in Silverdale you can recycle cable drums

Otherwise cable Spools can be easily upcycled and repurposed and could be offered to art centres, schools for projects etc. They are just as versatile as the more commonly used wooden pallets. With some creativity and your time they can be made into coffee tables, planters, chairs, clocks and much more! Eg

  • Cable drum bookshelves. Quite simply a home can never have too many books! ...

  • Cable drum console tables. ...

  • Cable drum clock. ...

  • Cable drum garden seats. ...

  • Cable drum garden bar. ...

  • Cable drum garden planter. ...

  • Cable drum children's play station. ...

  • Cable drum decking.

General Sustainability

Sustainable Business Network Free Self Assessment Tool

https://sustainable.org.nz/docket/sustainability-self-assessment/

Carbon Assessments and offsetting

Carbon footprint assessment tool for businesses & offsetting options

https://carbonclick.com/business/

Carbon footprint assessment tool for businesses & offsetting options

https://www.toitu.co.nz/what-we-offer/carbon-management

Responsible Banking & Investing

Mindful Money is a charity that promotes ethical investment via their tool that checks what funds and types of investments Kiwisavers and investment funds are putting money in to. 

https://mindfulmoney.nz/

Clean Power

Canstar Blue - A summary of power companies and if they use renewable sources

https://www.canstarblue.co.nz/energy/green-power-nz/

NZ Compare - a guide to renewable power companies in New Zealand

https://www.nzcompare.com/n/power/the-future-of-renewable-energy-nz

Light Force - Solar providers, modular and hybrid grid systems available

https://lightforce.co.nz/