Feeling Rubbish makes a blind bit of difference

Auckland’s branch of Blind Citizens NZ is delighted to launch Feeling Rubbish; a detailed guide to help blind and vision impaired Aucklanders sort household rubbish by touch.

Paul Brown, from Auckland’s branch of Blind Citizens NZ is proud to create a guide that is the first of its kind in New Zealand.

“Thanks to a ‘zero waste’ grant from Auckland Council’s Waste Minimisation and Innovation Fund (WMIF), I’m very proud to launch the first guide on reducing waste that we could find specifically aimed at blind and vision impaired people. As Aucklanders, we intend to make more than a blind bit of difference by dealing with our waste responsibly,” he says.

Written with the help of blind and vision impaired members from the Auckland community, Feeling Rubbish is available in audio CD, braille and large print as well as electronic formats. To further help distinguish between soft plastics and composites, “rubbish rings” with samples of rubbish have been created to help blind and vision impaired identify the different types of packaging and waste by touch, and where to put it.

Councillor Penny Hulse, Chair of the Environment and Community Committee says the council is committed to support community groups who share their goal of zero waste by 2040.

“Feeling Rubbish will help our blind and vision impaired community to sort household rubbish and recycle as much as possible, as well as help make their lives a little bit easier. This is a very exciting project and I am thrilled at the innovative ideas in the guide. It is full of information that is relevant to everyone, and I hope it will inspire other Aucklanders and communities beyond Auckland to find new ways to reduce, reuse and recycle.”

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