Real estate industry can impact on plastic reduction

Real estate industry can have a massive impact on plastic reduction, says Mike Pero

National real estate entrepreneur Mike Pero is calling on the real estate industry to join him to take a proactive stance against plastic waste.

“I’d like to challenge other real estate agencies in New Zealand to consider changing from traditional plastic ‘For Sale’ signs to more environment-friendly options,” says Mike Pero.

“Why wait for legislation when we can be proactive in bettering our environment?”

The real estate industry is known for its short-term use of corflute plastic signs, typically costing about $10, which are mostly sent to landfill.

Since Mike Pero Real Estate launched in 2011, all offices were required to use recyclable aluminium composite material (ACM) signs, which are more expensive to produce but are considered environmentally friendly.

From September 1 however, a new policy will apply where 100% of the company’s plastic ‘For Sale’ signs must be replaced by ACM signs. Pero estimates that less than 5% of the company’s signage has been plastic.

“Our ACM signs have a plywood base and cost more than ten times as much as corflute, but over time we’ve achieved savings through not having to buy new plastic every week.

“It’s definitely time now for us to fully get behind the call to reduce single-use plastic.”

Bindi Norwell, Chief Executive at REINZ says: “It’s great to see our members undertaking proactive initiatives in order to be more sustainable and protect New Zealand’s environment.

“We know other agencies around New Zealand have been promoting the use of reusable bags, looking at recycling programmes and understanding how to reduce office waste. With more than 15,000 real estate agents around the country all of these schemes add up to make a significant contribution to being more conscious of our environment.”

In an attempt to estimate the environmental impact of moving to ACM or other metal signs, Mike Pero calculates that if each sign is measured at only half a square metre and there are 75,000 property sales a year across the country, this equates to 37,500 square metres of 5mm plastic. These figures don’t take commercial leasing or rural sales into account.

“That’s 37.5 tonnes of plastic, or the equivalent of 6 million plastic bags of unnecessary plastic a year. I also suspect my calculations are very conservative – it could be up to 10 million plastic bags a year,” he said.

“In contrast we’ve reused some of our ACM signs dozens of times – so it’s totally worth the investment if it means we are being more responsible.”

Mike Pero says while some real estate agencies do recycle their signs, many simply have new ones made because it’s cheaper and more convenient.

“Everyone in the commercial, retail and services industry has a part to play in preventing unnecessary plastic waste, and this is ours.

“It will pay in the long-run for our industry to do the right thing.”

#ENDS

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