Monday 4 November

Waikato District Council’s Raglan office winning the war against waste

Waikato District Council’s Raglan team is on a mission to reduce waste and they’re proving small changes do see results.

In line with the Council’s goal of having zero waste by 2020, the Raglan office has managed to reduce its waste by more than 80 per cent in the past month.

Raglan Customer Delivery Team Leader Steve Soanes says they have achieved this by making simple changes which were initiated by the team’s Librarian, Merren Tait.

“Merren is very passionate about this cause and has brought in a lot of great ideas such as ensuring that everything that can be recycled is put out for collection each week, takeaway coffee cups and plastic bags are reused, and note paper is made from recycled paper.

“Other changes include lining rubbish bins with recycled paper instead of plastic bags and placing cardboard boxes alongside rubbish bins at each desk to capture all paper waste, which is then emptied into the recycle bin.”

However the initiative which has proved the most effective is the newly installed worm farm, which takes care of all the food and paper towel waste in the office and keeps the worms happy.

But why stop at just solid waste? The Raglan team is also tackling water and power waste by using minimal water to wash dishes and ensuring computers and monitors are turned off at the end of the day. Dishwashing water is also left in the sink for the next person to use, unnecessary lighting is switched off and use of the hot water zip kept to a minimum.

Mr Soanes says he hopes others will be inspired to follow their lead.

“What we have achieved shows that you don’t have to make monumental changes to make a difference – all the little things do really count.”

ENDS

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