Waiheke Waste Action Groups
Waste and recycling on Waiheke is a big issue and has been so for over 10 years. The Waiheke Waste resources trust and local company Clean Stream have worked to educate, reduce, reuse and recycle so that Waiheke had one of the lowest waste to landfill figures in the country.
This was all wrecked in 2009 when right wing councillors on Auckland City Council voted to give the waste contract to an Australian multinational – TransPacific Industries. The key difference is that now instead of our recyclable materials being hand sorted and separated into high value re-usable materials. They are co-mingled and shipped off the island to the Visy MRP in Onehunga. Our green waste is also to be shipped off the island instead of being processed locally as before.
The campaign site for this is Waihekedoesitbetter.org.nz.
At the meeting in June 2009 around 200 people discussed the actions we want to take following the award of the waste management contract to TPI. The result was the creation of seven working groups. You can sign up to one of these groups. If you would like to get actively involved in one of these groups you can sign up at onewaiheke.onlinegroups.net
The groups are:
- All: Online Group for All islanders involved in all aspects of the Waiheke Waste Action Groups
- Direct Action Group: Online Group for islanders taking direct action
- Charter: Online Group for Waiheke Islanders working on the rules of engagement.
- Waiheke Waste Fighting Fund: Online Group for fund raising for the Waiheke Waste Fighting fund.
- Democracy: Online Group for working to give all islanders a way to participate in local democracy, One Waiheke – Many Voices. Polls
- UNESCO: Online Group for working on a longer term vision to bring the Island into an organisational structure that protects our values and vision.
- Legal: Online Group for Waiheke Islanders and Supporters involved in legal action;
- Media: Online Group for web, email, audio, visual, print content for the campaign
I have been thinking about green waste. Apart from the broader issues and the decision-making process and and and – don’t get me started! – it really upsets me to think of greenery being trucked off the island. I can’t think of a less sustainable way to manage this type of ‘waste’. I have been musing about how I could increase my composting to cope with things like tree-prunings, hedge cuttings, trees blown ovver in storms and so on – these things are too big to go into my compost bins. I could buy a chipper, I guess, but don’t really want to go to that length. I wonder if someone could start a service on the island like CleanStream does at present to collect and compost/make mulch? What would be involved? How much land would be needed? Machinery costs? Would it be financially viable? Anything else?
I’ve heard that someone on the island has purchased the mulcher that used to be operated by CleanStream and is planning to operate it to create mulch… but thats about all I know at this point and am not sure who exactly it was that purchased it. Hopefully we’ll have something like you mention operating soon and less profit for TPI.