For the last formal meeting of the year, 30 members and 1 guest were welcomed by President "Rakish" Robyn.
The day's Guest Speaker was Lofty Ned, Advisor to Auckland City Council on Waste and Recycling. Lofty is responsible for the education and development of programmes encouraging Aucklander's to manage Waste differently. His presentation was titled "Waste 101".This difficult issue touches us all. There are changes in the wind that signal change to a smaller or greater degree for every household. The plan is about reducing the waste we throw into the bin, and about recycling and reusing more. We know that many of the resources we depend on, which we have often taken for granted, are becoming scarce. Yet there is so much we can do to ensure that resources we previously regarded as of no use – such as food / green waste and industrial waste – are fully used, and reused, reducing what we send to landfills.
Some of the statistics that Lofty shared were very sobering indeed;
- In just one week, Auckland City generates enough waste to fill a Rugby Field the height of the Goal Post up-rights!
- The average Red Top rubbish bin contains 45% - Food Waste, 10% recyclables and 65% not rubbish!
- Auckland City's aspirational goal is to generate zero waste by 2040!
- Construction / Building waste is calculated to have a value of $50,000 per house!
One of the first significant changes we will see as Aucklander's will be the roll-out "Food Waste Composting", in 2021. Stay tuned for more information.
It was a very lively presentation with many questions from the floor and it was a pity that time got the better of us and question time had to end. Lofty indicated that he, or one of his colleagues, would be happy to return and update us on progress and no doubt members will be looking forward to that.
If you are interested to learn more, and we all should be, have a look at the following Links. Much to learn and please share with family and friends. The more we all know about this subject, the better!!
Here is the link to the recycling game Lofty talked about, (a bit like Tinder - apparently!!): https://www.recycleright.co.nz/
Other links of interest are:
- http://www.makethemostofwaste.co.nz/
- https://lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz/
- https://compostcollective.org.nz/
- https://www.makethemostofwaste.co.nz/recycling/just-ask-binny/
......and lastly, how Recycling Works in Auckland Council: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sdkk2u3yX74
