WA S T E M I N I M I S AT I O N F O R A U C K L A N D S C H O O L S - S P R I N G 2 0 1 2
Kia Ora,
Welcome to the spring 2012 edition of WasteWise
News. This edition brings reports from the transfer
station, tips for galas and events, projects from
schools, registration for WasteWise schools 2013
and a keep cup give away!
Baby elephant escapes, now living at
the Waitakere Transfer Station!
A baby elephant sculpture made from reused materials
and weighing about a tonne has been installed outside
the waste minimisation learning centre at the Waitakere
Transfer Station. About 4000 annual visitors to the centre
can learn more about waste minimisation and view the
materials used to make the baby elephant.
Auckland Council has adopted a Waste Management
and Minimisation Plan for the region. The new plan has
an aspirational goal of Zero Waste by 2040. The council
will be helping people to minimise their waste and create
economic opportunities in doing so.
The council aims to:
· deliver waste services more efficiently
· find better ways to recover and re-use resources
· send less waste to landfill.
No time like the present to engage your students in the
subject of waste!
Is your school interested in joining our growing network
of WasteWise Schools? If you are interested in starting
the programme in 2013, fill in the registration of interest
form accompanying this newsletter and we will contact
you with further information.
Nāku noa na,
The Waste Minimisation team, Auckland Council.
reducing our footprint
Henderson based sculptor Andrew Hall made the sculpture
from preloved materials sourced mainly from the transfer
station. The materials used include an old fridge for the
body, wooden posts for legs and a microwave door
for the information panel. The elephant’s kneecaps are
made from old skateboard safety gear and the tail is an
old paintbrush.
Auckland sends more than a million tonnes of rubbish to
landfill. A two year old baby elephant weighs about a
tonne so that is similar to the weight of more than a million
baby elephants going to landfill each year! We can reduce
this waste to landfill by careful purchasing choices and by
reusing and recycling.
To arrange a visit to the learning centre, email
[email protected]
Printed on 100% recycled paper.
Waste Minimisation at school events
Nicky
A huge amount of waste is
generated at school events.
In addition to the
environmental benefits –
reducing the waste at your
next fair or gala can provide
an opportunity to
demonstrate your school’s
commitment to waste
minimisation and increase
c o m m u n i t y a w a re n e s s
around waste management.
Manurewa South School - New signage
Manurewa South wanted to inform students, staff and
the community about all the wonderful initiatives going
on in their school grounds. Signage that would be clear,
fun to read, informative and attractive was installed next
to one of the worm farms, the nature walk and the
community garden. Lots of students got involved in
the competition.
To make your event as waste free as possible, it’s important to:
· gain commitment from everyone that is involved in the
planning stages
· communicate your plan to vendors, stakeholders and
participants
· ensure that all materials used and sold at stalls can be
reduced, reused, recycled or composted
· provide collection bins for the waste streams that you
would like to capture e.g. recyclables, food
waste/compostable material, and refuse
· use simple and clear signage so attendees know where
to put their waste
· appoint an appropriate number of adult and student
volunteers to monitor bins and encourage people to
separate the waste properly
· measure and record the quantity of material collected
from each waste stream
· evaluate and determine areas of improvement
· publicise your successes
WasteWise Facts
Use these facts in your school newsletters, daily notices,
or as part of your teaching programme.
- The London Olympic 2012 games had a 70% reuse,
recycling and composting target
- Making paper from recycled materials results in 74%
less air pollution and 35% less water pollution
- A single person in the USA uses two pine trees worth
of paper products each year
- One recycled aluminium can saves enough electricity to
run a computer or a TV for three hours.
Please note these facts have been collected from various
sources and have not been independently verified by
Auckland Council.
Manurewa East School Muck in Day
In 2011 Manurewa East School were lucky enough to
Poles were erected and painted and became the gateway
receive a massive building upgrade. To make way for
to Tupuranga. Corrugated fences appeared along with
construction of 12 new classrooms, a library and an ICT
a painted mural, inspired by the book The Lorax.
suite, the environment took a bit of a beating.
Inside the boundary the worm farm was re-established,
It was important to give something back to the
compost bins built, a Monarch butterfly garden erected,
environment. In lieu of this, a muck-in day was planned
a chook house, orchard, trees, herb garden, harekeke
for 17 March.
area, tool shed and a designated teaching space was
ready to greet the students and staff for the new week.
Over 65 parents, students and teachers turned up with
shovels, a digger, trucks and lots of energy! A rugby
league team that practises on the school grounds also
felt the community call to give something back. They
were part of the wonderful team of people who gave
up their Saturday to create Manurewa East School’s new
sustainable area, called Tupuranga.
On 18 May Tupuranga was officially opened by the local
MP Louisa Wall and screened on Maori Television the
same night.
The blank canvas took shape under the watchful eye of
the schools team of Enviro Warriors.
Raised vegetable gardens were constructed, filled with
sand and had plants planted and labelled with vegetable
painted shapes. Paths were dug, edged with Ponga logs
leading to the newly lined pond that became home to
plants, rocks and goldfish!
What an amazing muck in day thanks to the
school’s vision along with the help of the amazing
school community.
E
ST E W I S
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TH E WA
LI CATI O
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FU N
Auckland Council
Funding for schools
Teachers - send us your
The Environmental Initiative Fund has opened
original slogans or fun ways
for applications and will close Thursday 27th
to encourage composting
September 2012.
and win a keep cup!
We encourage you to visit the Auckland Council
website www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/funding for
Send slogans to:
[email protected] and be in to win.
further information on the funding scheme, details
on how to submit your application, and relevant
eligibility and assessment criteria.
Posters for classrooms
We have recycling, worm farm and early childhood posters
for classrooms available. Please contact us if you would
like copies. All posters are available in English and Te Reo.
Composting courses for
your parent community.
Food and garden waste is best
returned to the soil as
compost. Learn how to turn
your waste into nutritious
compost.
Email or phone 09 482-1172
to ask for a specialised course
for your parent community.
Attending households receive $46 discount off any
composting system purchased from Kaipatiki.
To attend a standard courses book online at
www.kaipatiki.org.nz/courses
For any of the free resources or services listed in this
newsletter or for more information please contact us at
[email protected]