Reducing waste at source results in more efficient resource use and reduced waste treatment and disposal costs.
More efficient use of materials allows more product to be made faster using the same equipment.
Minimising discharges of waste to the environment helps businesses meet legislative requirements.
Environmental performance is increasingly important to businesses and to consumers who are becoming aware of environmental issues. New Zealand’s clean green image is of vital importance to our international competitiveness. Good environmental performance protects our own environment and people, and enhances our image overseas.
When was the last time you looked in your bins? Do you really know what you are throwing away or what it is worth?
When you throw something away you may be paying for it twice. Once when you purchase it or the materials it is made from, then again when you pay for someone to take it away – so it is worth knowing what is going in the bin.
Start simple by having a regular quick look in your bins, check for large amounts of recyclables, offcuts or other people’s waste.
For more detailed information, do a waste audit. You can do a quick simple waste audit yourself – to find out how, see the Pollution Prevention Guide Waste Module.
Separate your waste as close to source as possible. This means having separate bins or cages for different materials located either where the waste is generated, or in a single waste storage area. If you keep your waste streams separate, you can keep them clean and they have more value for reuse or recycling.
For the office
On an industrial site
Bins and waste storage
Since April 2002, Environment Canterbury's offices have been ‘bin free’. We don’t have rubbish bins at our desks - only paper recycling bins and small food scraps containers. On each floor we have a set of stacked bins for landfill waste, recycling and reusable items.
Reusable items are donated to a local organisation called Creative Junk, which supplies resources to schools, preschools and community groups.
Our paper and cardboard is recycled by commercial recyclers, while our containers go to either a commercial or council kerbside collection.
All our food scraps are collected and either taken off-site for pig food or composted in compost bins in the gardens on-site.
For more information on this project, contact Environment Canterbury Customer Services.
The Sustainable Initiatives Fund Trust is a Canterbury-based, publicly-funded charitable trust, helping individuals, businesses or organisations through grants, loans or equity, develop new ways of turning waste into resources.
(03) 353 9007
0800 324 636 (EC INFO)
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