News & Community Stories
Read these inspiring local stories about going above and beyond to ensure a sustainable future in Taranaki.
Volunteer this Summer & be part of something BIG!
We need more awesome volunteers and fundraisers over Summer. Come and join our team of volunteers and be part of some amazing local events!
Mission Compostable: 5 Easily Avoidable Composting Mistakes
5 common mistakes you might be making with your compost!
Marfell Community School leading in Closing the Loop
Marfell Community School students show leadership in closing the loop, making their in-school lunches zero waste.
Meet the Wash Against Waste project!
Meet Tina and the Wash Against Waste project aiming to reduce the amount of rubbish generated by our local events!
Where does our trash go?
You know where your bin is collected (most likely your street!) but do you know where it goes next and where it does end up? Find out in this article!
Success at Ngāmotu for the Coastal Walkway Cleanup
On Sunday (2 April), over 40 volunteers spent their morning picking up rubbish from Ngāmotu Beach to the New Plymouth Wind Wand.
On The House
On The House is a New Plymouth based food surplus rescue charity. Since early this year, they have a new base at the Community Hall next to the Holy Trinity Church in Henui Street in Strandon, and this is where they welcome community members that have difficulties accessing kai.
Raymond Buckland – Egmont Refuse and Recycling Sustainable Business Champion
Raymond Buckland is the passionate owner of Egmont Refuse and Recycling located at 12 Scott Street in Hawera, and he successfully runs a “climate positive” business model. A progressive seeker of alternatives for our common household waste, we’ve selected him as our Sustainable Business Champion for the month of March.
Tri Taranaki Festival - Zero Waste Heroes
We believe it's achievable to have every event in Taranaki be on the path to zero waste! So we teamed up with Taranaki Conservationists to help make the Tri Taranaki Festival at Ngamotu Beach as zero-waste as possible…
Takeaway Throwaways Taranaki
Single-use takeaway containers are a big issue, so it’s no surprise that businesses have come up with ideas to reduce their waste and bring awareness to the alternatives. Some coffee shops, food stalls, and sushi storefronts, for instance, are meeting their customers halfway by providing compostable containers. But is this solving the problem, or creating a bigger one?
New Plymouth Implements three-month recycling bin ban - we’re here to help!
Our Taranaki region prides itself on its sustainable efforts, and we are here to help. Sustainable Taranaki provides education, workshops, and tours at The Junction - Zero Waste Hub on Colson Road. The Recycling/Zero Waste tours are free and can be booked for your group, family, school, kindergarten, business or organisation.
Team Focus - Elvisa Van Der Leden
Elvisa Van Der Leden is one of our newest team members at Sustainable Taranaki, and she’s come on board wearing a few hats but mainly will be our Zero Waste Educator at The Junction - Zero Waste Hub.
Closing the Loop: New Plymouth
This April we are teaming up with Zero Waste Aotearoa to explore and understand all aspects of zero waste and the circular economy.
“Taranaki is a region rich in history, resources and fantastic people with the skills to create a sustainable and just economy fit for the future. Join the Zero Waste Network and Sustainable Taranaki to explore and understand how you can be part of the emerging circular economy at our upcoming networking event.
Takeaway containers, explained
We’ve seen it all: compostable, bio-degradable, eco-friendly, plant-based... single-use takeaway containers are big issue around the world and in Aotearoa, so it’s no surprise that businesses have come up with ideas to try to reduce the impact of their coffee cups in the environment.
Ditch the bottle for the bar - MamaGaia helping to solve our plastic problem
There are lots of ways to help our environment, and live a little lighter this holiday season. Therefore, we are proud to feature Karen Danenhauer from MamaGaia as our Sustainable Business Champion this month for her ingenuity in repurposing plastic into soap dishes.
Manukorihi Intermediate students care for our beaches and call our community to take action.
Thanks to Izzy Fawson, Jess McBrearty and Emma Watson for producing this educational and inspiring video which captures the students working together during their Waitara beach clean-up. Impact Program coordinators, Kent and Isabella worked alongside the students to help educate the community about waste and where it ends up.
Reusable Nappies - the New Norm
Kinderen Early Childhood Education Centre received the NPDC Waste Levy Fund this November for the purchase of reusable nappies to exclusively be used at their centre. With policies and procedures already in place, they are poised to make the transition. In order to commend their bold efforts to enact change as well as bring awareness to this more sustainable approach to running a childcare centre, we have named Kinderen our Sustainable Business Champion this month.
Zero Waste Training
Some of our Sustainable Taranaki team members had the chance to participate in the Introduction to Resource Recovery course, a two-day training course by the Zero Waste Network held at The Junction on 15th and 16th of September.
Borrow A Cup! Escape Coffee Takes on Exciting Initiative to Minimise Waste
There are 178 other coffee retailers in New Zealand that have also implemented “Borrow A Cup” which are stainless steel, reusable cups that come in two sizes (eventually pint size for the keen festival goer…hint hint WOMAD), and cost $3.
Re-Create with 'Waste' Plastics - Junction Art Class
A group of parents and children attended our workshop during the school holidays, and got creative in making artwork from colourful plastics that would have otherwise gone to landfill.