MEDIA RELEASE: First Para Kore Marae bans plastic for future generations

DATE: 22.9.2019 - for immediate release

FROM: Para Kore Marae Inc.

A Rotorua Marae has made a stand to ban all plastic bottles and fizzy drinks.

“We have banned all plastic bottles of water and fizzy drinks from our marae large and small because we realised it couldn’t be any good for the environment when disposing them” says Ngāti Whakaue kuia and artist Norma Sturley, chairperson of the Tūnohopū Marae Trust.

Harina Rupapera, who supports marae, kōhanga reo, kura and community organisation in Te Arawa in waste minimisation says: “This is such a staunch, positive and bold stance and a huge step for Para Kore (Zero Waste) on marae and for Te Ao Māori. Our babies will grow up never seeing plastic bottles or drinking fizzy drinks on the Marae. This is about our revival as kaitiaki, taking community action to make a huge difference.”

“The number of plastic bottles collected over a period of time was phenomena. The money wasted buying plastic bottles of water which ended up half empty or opened and then left lying around was one reason. The amount of sugar in the fizzy drinks we were serving to our tamariki and adults was another reason we banned them from our marae. We wanted our tamariki and adults to get used to drinking our lovely chilled water straight from the tap.”

“We have had great feedback from those outside of our area who are looking at talking with their own marae committees. Everyone who has used the marae since we have committed to Para Kore (Zero Waste) have gotten on board and supported the kaupapa. This is a learning journey for a lot of us and it has made us more aware of how much we can contribute to taking care of our environment by ensuring we minimise our waste” says Norma Sturley.

The Para Kore waste minimisation education programme supports close to 400 marae, kōhanga reo, kura and community organisation across Aotearoa.

ENDS

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