19 minute read
LOVE FOOD HATE WASTE
KIWI HARVEST
LOVE FOOD, HATE WASTE
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KiwiHarvest started out as a very small operation from Dunedin in 2012 by Founder, Deborah Manning. She saw the gap in cafés and restaurants where food was getting thrown out and read an article where families were struggling financially and otherwise. With the simple idea of connecting the two she started, with her station wagon, getting in touch with cafés who had good food that was being thrown out and distributing that through agencies in Dunedin. The organisation slowly grew over the years and was able to secure premises on Kiwi Rail /Council leased grants which allowed them to start collecting a lot more food. Deborah then approached Progressive and Foodstuffs supermarket chains and commenced a food rescue business. That has organically grown over the years to the point where she saw the need to make a further impact by also setting up in Auckland. KiwiHarvest have now set up outreaches in Hawke’s Bay, Hastings and Queenstown with a small satellite operation on the North Shore of Auckland. Goodman Property Services through the Goodman Foundation have been instrumental and big supporters of KiwiHarvest from the early stages. While located at Goodman’s business park in Ellerslie, Kiwiharvest were granted carpark space for a 40 foot and two 20 foot containers and a portable cabin to start
running the Auckland operation from there. “That gave us the ability to turn over around 15-16 pallets of dry goods and produce,” says Gavin Findlay, CEO KiwiHarvest. “It became clear that there was a lot more need in the community for our services, and there was plenty of surplus food in the supply food chain. Goodman then gave us our Highbrook premise to expand our services which has been a game changer in terms of the volumes of produce we can get out into the community and to those in need. “In saying that, we still have 20-23 agencies on our waiting list as there still aren’t enough resources, in terms of people and drivers, on the ground, to move all the products out to all the agencies.“ “Consumer demand in today’s world is such that we have started to choose what shape and size we want our vegetables. So, what happens with the other nonperfect produce? They either get thrown out into landfill, float back into the fields or are given to the pig farms. This is where we step in and connect. We rescue all that good food from producers and manufacturers and play an instrumental role in diverting the food surplus from going to landfill,” says Gavin.
Kiwiharvest rescues 100,000-140,000kgs of good quality surplus food every month, and diverts this back to people who are struggling across New Zealand.
Not only does it needlessly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, wasting food also means squandering the resources used to produce and transport that food, including water, land, energy, labour, and capital. KiwiHarvest work with food businesses, including supermarkets, wholesalers, producers, cafés, restaurants, and hotels, to rescue the good food that they are not able to sell – whether that is because of oversupply, damaged packaging, cancelled orders, mislabelling, or because the food is nearing its best before date or end of life. The organisation works with agencies to reach vulnerable communities with the aim to ensure that food isn’t something they need to necessarily worry about. We work
New Zealand industry generates more than 103,000 tonnes of food waste per year, and it is estimated that 60% of food going to landfill is edible.
with all types of groups, be it low decile schools, women’s refuge, city missions, the salvation army and more,” says Gavin. “We wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for Goodman and we couldn’t do without our volunteers and other companies who have supported us with the provision of forklifts, equipment, security and hygiene systems and so much more. It’s a significant investment on their part to provide all that to us for free.” A big challenge for us right now is to get the funding to get another truck driver, a vehicle and get out to the community. The reality is there’s plenty of surplus food, but we need the resource to distribute this out to our communities in need.” “Now that we’re here in East Tamaki, the next step is to get out into the local business community. There is opportunity to work with the local businesses which would help us further expand our operations. A little goes a long way and collectively it will be even more,” he adds.
kiwiharvest.org.nz
Subsequent to being interviewed for this article Gavin faced several COVID-19 related challenges. Two of these were the lack of a reliable vehicle for Kiwiharvest (an essential business) to check on COVID-19 compliance by the organisations they deliver to, and the availability of face masks to protect their staff. In less than 24 hours of GETBA approaching East Auckland BMW, Kiwiharvest collected a van to enable their compliance requirements to be met. Shortly thereafter, an email to GETBA members elicited a source of face masks for essential businesses. Kiwiharvest are very grateful to East Auckland BMW and GETBA members for their prompt and willing support.
EAST TAMAKI POLLUTION PREVENTION PROGRAMME
We all work close to the Tamaki Estuary. Some of us also live and play on the estuary. But, do we know what is actually going into the water? And what are the risks of business pollution impacting on our beautiful Auckland coastal environments? Once we find these risks, what can East Tamaki businesses do to prevent accidental pollution?
These are some of the questions Auckland Council contractor, Wilkinson Environmental Ltd, set out to answer as part of a Howick Local Board funded project between November 2014 and January 2016. Wilkinson Environmental Ltd (WEL) visited 444 East Tamaki businesses. Every company was given information about how their site connects to the Tamaki Estuary, and about common pollution risks. The focus was on education, not enforcement, and encouraging businesses to manage their risks around water pollution. Of the 444 businesses visited, 114 sites had room for improvement in their current practices. Those businesses were given a wide range of practical recommendations to help them avoid causing pollution. In 2020 they are back to revisit those businesses who had pollution risks and to help new businesses in the area, again funded by the Howick Local Board.
Roof downpipe
One of the most important things to remember is that almost all stormwater drains on sites in East Tamaki, like the one in the photo above, connect directly to the Tamaki Estuary. Anything that flows into them, such as rubbish, litter and accidental liquid spills, will end up in the estuary without any treatment. Many people get confused between the stormwater system and the sewer. The diagram below shows it in a nice simple way:
Industrial sewage
Sewer to wastewater teatment plant
SEWAGE Storm drains
STORM WATER
Outfall pipe to stream
Sewage, or wastewater, from our homes and businesses, including from sinks, flows through the sewer to a wastewater treatment plant. From East Tamaki, wastewater goes to the Watercare treatment plant in Mangere. Whereas, rain that falls onto roofs, roads and yards, enters stormwater drains and flows directly to the local waterway without going through any treatment. Spills into this stormwater system can rapidly have a huge impact on the local waterway.
COMMON ISSUES
Of the 114 East Tamaki businesses that were found to have room to improve their practices, here are the most common ways they could reduce the potential to accidentally cause pollution:
No spill plan Many businesses were found to have no spill equipment (such as a spill kit) and staff had not been trained to deal with spills. Even if you only have relatively small quantities of liquids such as chemicals and oils on your site, you need to have a basic spill response plan in place. A spill plan should have the following components: 1. A documented standard procedure for identifying and stopping a spill getting into the stormwater system, and for cleaning up and appropriately disposing of a spill. 2. Appropriate spill kits in high risk locations, such as loading/unloading areas, with these spill kit locations mapped if necessary. It can be useful to mark out on the ground set locations for spill kits. 3. Scheduled training for staff on implementing the spill response plan If you only handle small volumes of liquids like oils or chemicals, then this spill plan does not have to be overly complicated. Keep the plan simple and clear but make sure everyone is aware a plan exists and key staff know what to do in the event of an accident.
Risky storage One of the biggest risks found is the incorrect storage of bulk liquids. If you have drums or IBCs, or any containers of liquids, they MUST be stored within secondary containment. There have been many instances of drums and bulk containers leaking unexpectedly. If they are stored outside and without any secondary containment when this happens there is a huge risk the leak will flow into site stormwater drains and cause pollution. You could face significant penalties if this happens. This applies to almost all bulk liquids, including vegetable oils, ‘biodegradable’ products, beverages, food ingredients and milk products.
Washing equipment or vehicles Some companies were found to be washing dirty equipment or vehicles outside with detergents and washwater was flowing into stormwater drains. Even biodegradable or ‘green’ carwash/ detergent should not enter these drains. Washwater should be diverted to the sewer or, if possible, onto unsealed ground. If washing vehicles is a significant part of your operation, you should invest in a dedicated wash bay that is connected to the sewer. For occasional washing you should use car or commercial truck wash facilities.
Leaking rubbish bins Liquids should never be disposed of in outside skip bins as these often have drain holes in the base and liquids will leak out and enter stormwater drains.
Plastic raw material and litter It is also important to prevent litter from entering stormwater drains. Stormwater drains in industrial areas can be a major source of marine litter. Sites that handle dry raw materials, such as plastic beads or powders, and sites with large amounts of rubbish should have procedures in place to ensure spilled material is cleaned up quickly. Many sites in East Tamaki that have this issue have installed filters inside their stormwater drains to capture any residual spilt material before it can get to the Tamaki Estuary.
Staff awareness One of the hardest things to do is engage well with staff so they don’t accidentally cause water pollution while at work. There is often confusion over where the stormwater drains flow to. As well as regular staff training, some East Tamaki businesses have painted stencils or installed signs near stormwater drains to remind staff these drains connect to waterways.
RECENT POLLUTION INCIDENTS
GLENDENE, AUCKLAND In 2018 Vac-U-Digga NZ Ltd discharged 1000L of paint into their washbay, which connected to the stormwater system and the Whau River. The paint made its way to the Whau River causing significant pollution. Vac-U-Digga was prosecuted by Auckland Council and fined $28,125.
CHRISTCHURCH In 2019 Emergent Cold Ltd were prosecuted for discharging ammonia to a gutter, which entered the stormwater network and then the Kaputone Creek. The pollution resulted in the death of 1,779 fish, including long fin and short fin eels. Emergent Cold Ltd was fined $145,350 and the worker involved was fined $97,000. This is an important reminder that staff need to be careful to protect stormwater drains and be aware that these connect to a waterway.
ONEHUNGA, AUCKLAND In 2017, Protective Paints was prosecuted by Auckland Council and fined nearly $18,000 for a paint spill on their site. A 1000L container of paint base was being moved around the site on a forklift and ruptured when it struck the edge of a building. The paint made its way into the stormwater system and the nearby estuary and the Manukau Harbour, discolouring water and killing eels.
The East Tamaki Pollution Prevention Programme was well received by businesses visited, with many finding the friendly advice very useful and delivered in a non-threatening way. If you would like confidential advice on how to manage your pollution risks, or simply want to find out where you can get good spill equipment, please feel free to contact Wilkinson Environmental Ltd.
The waste advisory programme, funded by Auckland Council’s Waste Management and Innovation Fund, saw waste audits conducted at 30 East Tamaki businesses by Wilkinson Environmental during 2019. Participating companies were given an assessment of their current waste streams and an Advisory Report with waste data, estimated landfill waste composition and details of any opportunities to divert materials from landfill. The report recommendations included contact details for potential services providers and actions required. A total of 1,127 tonnes per annum of waste diversion opportunities have been identified for these 30 businesses, with 218 tonnes of this being straightforward opportunities using existing commercial recycling or composting services. Of the 218 tonnes of straightforward opportunities, 44.35 tonnes per annum of ongoing diversion has been implemented so far. A further 10 tonnes was diverted for re-use by a Pacific Island community charity, as a one-off for a business. The straightforward diversion opportunities were broken down into material categories. Large volumes of wood were found (69 tonnes p.a.) and connections were provided for wood recyclers. Local landscape garden supply business Superscapes will collect untreated wood for free to be processed into woodchip. Wood waste was mostly made up of wooden pallets, and packaging such as boxes. The second largest volume of easily divertible material was compostable material, at 52 tonnes p.a. This was made up mostly of food waste created in lunchrooms and onsite cafeterias. Commercial compost collection services are available but have a cost. Plastic, at 40.2 tonnes per annum, was the third largest waste stream. This was predominantly plastic shrink wrap and other plastic packaging. Many businesses were connected to local plastics recycler Astron Sustainability. Despite the availability of paper and cardboard recycling being very well known and common in most businesses, there was still opportunity found for 38.2 tonnes of paper/card to be diverted. This was predominantly opportunities to improve the way staff use existing cardboard recycling systems, to try and prevent them from discarding it into general waste bins. BUSINESS WASTE ADVISORY PROGRAMME To date, six companies, or 20%, have implemented some of the recommendations made to them. These good examples show the potential value a waste advisory programme can deliver. The primary barrier to implementing the waste diversion opportunities identified is financial. While some businesses were able to reduce their waste disposal costs slightly by diverting some materials, and therefore needing less bin pickups, the cost of recycling collection services are unlikely to be cheaper than disposal, and in some cases can be more expensive. The cost of commercial collections for material such as cardboard and plastics has become more expensive in recent years as recycled commodity prices around the world have dropped considerably. This means businesses are even less willing to pursue waste diversion. The low cost of landfill is a common barrier to engaging with businesses on waste minimisation in New Zealand. The NZ Government is currently consulting on increasing the landfill levy which would have the effect of increasing waste costs and incentivising diversion. This would have a clear positive impact on the results of this programme as more solutions would be implemented by the businesses.
From the Police to you
Constable Nicci Gibson is the face of the Police for the Botany Community which includes the GETBA area. Nicci has some practical advice and tips for everyone.
First and foremost, I hope everyone is safe and well in their bubble. These are unprecedented times, and we are all having to work with a very fluid situation. Unless you are an essential service, most of you would have had to close up your business and go home during the lockdown period. This made me wonder how many started to second guess their current security systems or lack thereof. While your business is closed, you have time to ponder what security measures would be better, or what you had thought of getting (but didn’t). Unfortunately you will be unable to implement anything now, because of the lockdown restrictions. The message here is, remember that feeling, write down a reminder to address any concerns you have, and as soon as the lockdown ends, get it sorted.
It’s easy to put off things like security, but when things go pear shaped, we wish we had done it sooner. We’re all guilty of it, for many years I have been telling people to install CCTV cameras in their home, but I have only just put them in myself. There are plenty of other things I would rather spend my money on too. However now they are in, it is a great feeling. Technology allows you to watch your property from wherever you are and teamed up with a monitored alarm, it gives a great sense of security. During the lockdown installing a new security system is not on the cards, but you can observe basic security measures. Ensure you always lock your vehicles and don’t leave valuables in your car (if you must, make sure they are out of site). Stolen plates still seem to be a hot item, those of you who have taken advantage of the safer plates system, well done. I am sure GETBA will try to arrange another one of these in East Tamaki when things return to normal. Remember there is a wealth of information on the Police website and the GETBA website for how to keep your business safe. Now would be a good time to look at these, because when the lockdown finishes you will be concentrating all your energy into getting your businesses up and running again. Keep well.
COVID-19 reminder from Senior Sergeant Anson Lin
Police will be highly visible in our communities to keep people and their properties safe. Our focus continues to be on maintaining law and order and preventing harm, and we will not hesitate to deal appropriately with anyone who seeks to take advantage of this national emergency. We are now at alert level 4 and in lockdown. This means people should be staying at home. Therefore we encourage you to please report non-emergency situations online at www.police. govt.nz/105support or call 111 if it’s an emergency. Police are asking that everyone commits to keeping themselves and their community safe by adhering to the restrictions imposed. Anyone with concerns about individuals or businesses breaching the Alert Level 4 restrictions can make a report online at: police.govt.nz/105support
Proudly supporting
First appeared in the Howick and Pakuranga Times
Forsyth Barr, one of New Zealand’s most respected and established names in the financial services industry, has opened offices in Auckland East.
The Auckland East team, in Botany, is led by two investment advisers with strong credentials and local interests. At the helm are David Morgan and Mark Steele. The move increases Forsyth Barr’s nationwide
Mark Steele (left) and David Morgan
presence to 21 offices and more than 130 accredited investment advisers. With a history spanning more than 80 years, Forsyth Barr is a proudly New Zealand-owned firm that assists retail, wholesale and institutional clients. Its advisers are backed by one of New Zealand’s leading research teams producing equity, fixed interest and investment strategy research for clients. The opening of the office in Botany is part of Forsyth Barr’s ongoing growth and, most particularly, Forsyth Barr’s commitment to providing clients with quality investment advice, on the ground in the local communities the company serves. David has worked in the Botany/Howick area for almost a dozen years and has almost 20 years of experience in the financial services industry in both the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Mark has more than nine years of experience as an investment adviser in New Zealand. He is a true east Auckland local having grown up in Mellons Bay, and he still resides there. David is passionate about helping clients achieve their objectives through effective investment advice. Over the years he has developed enduring relationships with his clients based on trust and an ongoing understanding of these objectives. Mark’s focus is to always ensure his service and advice match each individual client’s objective and style. Objectives could be growth, capital protection, income for retirement or all of the above. “Put simply, we advise people who have accumulated a lump sum of money, how to take care of this money appropriately,” said Mark. David added,“Usually this is money they have spent their lifetime saving or gathering or it could have arrived through the sale of the family home, other property, inheritance or business sale.” Mark said, “Whether you are seeking to transact, receive investment advice or investment management services, we assist personal, institutional and corporate clients providing a full range of investment services.”
Contact David or Mark Phone (09) 368 0170 or 0800 367 227
OTHER GETBA SPONSORS Click on their logos to link through to their websites for useful information and messages during the pandemic.
EAST TAMAKI EXPERTS Barfoot & Thompson Commercial
For lease
3 Birmingham Road A unique opportunity to occupy a stand alone property at a very very competitive price. The premises comprise a 1,913m² industrial facility on 3,060m² land. The yard is gated and security fenced. The office fitout is exceptionally modern and warehouse has two roller doors with 7.5m stud at the apex. VERY MODERN INDUSTRIAL IN EAST TAMAKI
20C Arwen Place The property is well-presented, recently refurbished and comprises 1,704.6m². The warehouse is 6m stud at the apex, and is accessed by roller doors, one at the rear and two on the road front. The property is located minutes from Highbrook Southern Motorway connection. FUNCTIONAL WAREHOUSE CLOSE TO HIGHBROOK
Record land sale
Highest price per m² for nonarterial industrial in East Tamaki
Area
Cost/m
Sold for
3,175m²
$1,083/m²
$3,44 million
Recent lease
Leased March 2020
Area
Term
Leased for
1,057m²
3 years
$130,000 p.a.
