HELP US HELP THE ENVIRONMENT | NORTHLANDS

News

14 October 2022

Have you noticed something missing in our food court?

Rubbish bins.

That’s right – you can treat our food court like your favourite restaurant. Relax, knowing your rubbish is being cleared and sorted to ensure we recycle as much as possible and reduce the waste going to landfill.

 

Aotearoa New Zealand generates more than 17 million tonnes of waste each year. Of that, almost 13 million tonnes go to landfill – that means almost 76% of the material we use is completely wasted.

 

Of that waste, food and plastic are the fourth and fifth largest sources of waste going to Class1 landfills (those accepting household and other wastes), respectively.

Food accounts for 9% of waste and plastic follows at 8.3%.

 

At Kiwi Property, we are committed to taking the steps today to create a brighter future for the generations of tomorrow.

 

 

As part of our Sustainability Strategy, we have an ambition to create places that promote wellbeing and have a positive impact on the environment. Within that, we have a target of net zero operational waste to landfill by 2050. Already, we have reduced our operational waste by 24% since 2012.

 

On top of this, we are actively working to improve waste management – not only recycling all that we can, but doing so correctly. When non-recyclable materials are disposed of in recycling bins, the recyclables must be sorted from the non-recyclables – a job costing councils millions of dollars.

 

In July, 7% of Christchurch’s recycling trucks were sent to landfill – costing $38,000.00. In June, 9% of recycling trucks were sent to landfill.

 

Plastic bags, nappies, coffee cups, fabric, wet wipes and dirty containers are among the most common culprits hiding among recycling and every month, amounting to thousands of tonnes of waste being diverted to landfills.

 

Every little bit we can do to correctly sort recycling helps.

 

 

Beyond the food court, several loading docks in Kiwi Property centres have been revamped to look and feel more like recycling stations rather than rubbish dumps.

 

Large recycling bins are clearly labelled and colour coded to differentiate different materials. Plastic, bottles/cans etc., food, oil, paper, cardboard and coffee grinds each have their own bin, creating a culture of accountability in our centres.

 

We encourage you to join us in reducing waste and correctly sorting your recycling at home. To help, we’ve outlined the different materials that can be recycled in your yellow bin*:

 

  • Clean plastic bottles and containers that are 3 litres or smaller in size but no smaller than a yoghurt pottle and not squashed. Examples include:
    • numbered 1, such as soft drink bottles
    • numbered 2, such as milk bottles
    • numbered 5, such as family-sized yoghurt and ice cream containers
  • Clean aluminium cans, metal tins and aerosol cans. Make sure not to squash them.
  • Clean glass, such as clear and coloured glass bottles or jars.
  • Clean cardboard and paper, such as newspapers and flattened cardboard boxes.

Remember to give your bottles a rinse and put lids in the red bin.

 

* Source: Christchurch City Council.

For more information on how Christchurch City Council recycles, check out their online guides: https://www.ccc.govt.nz/services/rubbish-and-recycling/