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Waste minimisation
Council offices used to send almost
60 tonnes of waste to landfill each
year. A huge amount of that was
paper — 60-65 per cent — so it was
decided to look hard at this area for
improvement. Inspired by Timaru District Council’s
in-house waste reduction
programme, a zero waste to landfill
minimisation scheme was brought in. Changing old habits The scheme allows staff members
to recycle at their desk, in much the
same way as people do at home. It
also helps them to change a few old
habits. All rubbish bins in the offices were
replaced by two recycling trays —
one for mixed paper and one for
clean and safe reusable items to be
used by City Council Early Learning
Centres and Creative Junk. Any remaining landfill or organic
material is collected in tea-room bins. With no food waste in the bins at
desks, cleaners only need to empty
the two recycling trays once a week. The system puts the onus on
individuals to think about where their
refuse will end up and ensure that
the refuse is appropriately sorted. Council Service Centres and
Libraries have a similar waste
minimisation scheme that provides
staff with trolleys for reusable paper,
paper for recycling and reusable
items. Paper that is only used on one
side goes to the bindery to be made
into pads and tea-rooms have bins for
food scraps. What can you do? |