Waste not, want not Recycling stars

Waste not, want not

At Summerset at Monterey Park in Hobsonville, Auckland, the village Residents’ Recycling and Repurposing Committee has been a force for meaningful change. Here, we meet two of the founding members and learn some tips for living greener.

Founding members of the Residents’ Recycling and Repurposing Committee Maureen Briggs (left) and Fiona Downes (right).

When a group of eco-savvy new residents arrived at Summerset at Monterey Park several years ago, they soon started talking about ways to make the village more environmentally friendly. So Maureen Briggs and Fiona Downes formed a village Residents’ Recycling and Repurposing Committee, to share their knowledge and ideas.

Most recently, Maureen has been tackling the problem of polystyrene. “I saw a story on TV about a man who was pulling bits of white polystyrene out of the river because it was damaging the eels’ habitat,” she says. “In the background was a truck with “Expol” printed all over it so I decided to ring the company to see what they were about.”

The detective work paid off, as Maureen discovered there were a range of polystyrene recycling centres around the country. “Polystyrene is a nasty problem that can often get overlooked among all the other green issues on our radar these days. It’s really important to recycle polystyrene as it takes so long to break down. So much comes into our villages around whiteware and furniture, so it’s good to know that it can be recycled into underfloor insulation.”

Fiona Downes is something of an expert when it comes to repurposing and recycling – she’s been doing it for more than 40 years!

“There are so many things that can be reused elsewhere, rather than just putting them in the bin,” she says. “If you are new to recycling, start by referring to your rubbish bin as your ‘landfill bin’, then hold something in your hand for a moment and consider what else you could do with it instead of throwing it out.”

With downsizing a common theme among residents, Fiona says getting rid of things is much easier if you know they are going to someone who needs them. For household items in good working order, she points people in the direction of various charities, or for drapes, the local curtain bank. “Schools, kindergartens and community groups can often use everything from milk botle tops to paper towel inners,” Fiona says. “Ice-block sticks become seedling markers, while glass bottles could go to local arts groups for upgrading to something creative and beautiful. Just ask around your local community.”

1 Do you have items you no longer need but that are too good to throw away? Why not start a ‘give and take’ table, where residents can donate quality items they no longer need or use, for others to take for free.

2 Think ‘resource, not rubbish’. There may be businesses or charitable organisations in your community that would love to take quality used items. Some SPCA centres take old (but clean!) linen and towels, Kings Plant Barn garden centres take back empty plastic plant pots, and City Mission branches will come to you to collect items if there are several residents with goods to donate.

3 There are Expol recycling ‘cubes’ at various Mitre 10, ITM and Carters hardware stores around the country that take polystyrene for recycling. Call Expol on 0800 86 33 73 or email sales@expol.co.nz to find a drop-off point near you.

MAUREEN AND FIONA’S TIPS FOR GOING GREENER

4 If you’re comfortable on a computer, have a look online. There are lots of great websites with handy tips. For starters, check out plasticfreejuly.org, lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz, and teracycle.co.nz.