22 Sustainability

THE LUNCH PROGRAMME THAT’S CHANGING LIVES

Tucked away behind a subtle fence guarded with security on a busy South Auckland road is Manurewa High School. Upon arriving last week the unassuming entrance certainly has more than meets the eye.

The high school is the largest multicultural school in New Zealand, with 2000 students representing over 50 nationalities. And importantly, Manurewa High School is leading the way with their firm involvement in the Government-led healthy school lunch initiative, Ka Ora, Ka Ako.

The Ka Ora, Ka Ako initiative provides free of charge healthy school lunches and aims to reduce food insecurity by providing access to a nutritious lunch at school, every day. As of March 2021, more than eight million lunches were served in 542 schools to over 132,600 kids — a number which is set to grow as the programme strengthens. There is no denying the positive impact that the lunches have had on these children — “these lunches have changed my life” mentioned one of the school’s prefects.

There is strong evidence that regular, nutritious food is vital for children’s physical, mental and educational development. It affects their ability to focus, concentrate and learn.

Sadly, around one in five children in New Zealand live in households that struggle to put enough good-quality food on the table. In communities facing greater socioeconomic barriers, 40% of parents run out of food sometimes or often.

As a company, Ecoware has a vital role to play in supporting the schools and food distribution companies involved with certified compostable packaging — a safe, hygienic and environmentally friendly solution.

Importantly, we’re also able to educate and support Kiwi kids around what to do with their lunch waste when they are finished eating. We know that by teaching more sustainable behaviours and habits from an early age, the next generation will act as our country’s caretakers for decades to follow.

Manurewa High School, who are going above and beyond to manage waste responsibly, have a strong ethos regarding waste diversion from landfill. Ecoware’s partnership with the Ka Ora, Ka Ako programme has ensured certified compostable packaging is used to serve the healthy school lunches.

Beyond the packaging is a sophisticated bin and disposal system that is clearly labeled ‘compostable waste’ with imagery of what can go into the organic bin. The precision and execution of the closed loop system makes it simple and easy for kids to put their waste in the right bin to ensure no food waste or compostable packaging is sent to landfill.

With these initiatives alone, Manurewa High School is diverting approximately 3500kg of waste per week that would have otherwise been sent to landfill — equating to an estimated 120,000kg of waste per annum! That’s just one of the 542 participating schools who are keeping plastic out of Kiwi landfills each year.

As a New Zealand owned and operated business, Ecoware has been leading innovation and change for the past decade. It has been a real privilege to see what we consider a simple concept being implemented so successfully.

The Ministry of Education has taken leadership by ensuring the program minimises waste to landfill and by promoting the use of environmentally friendly packaging, like Ecoware’s range of certified compostable solutions.

As a dedicated sustainable packaging supplier, Ecoware looks forward to supporting more schools through the Ka Ora, Ka Ako programme. A big thank you to the amazing Kiwi businesses who use Ecoware compostable packaging — it’s these customers which have made programmes like these possible and who will help grow the school lunch programme at a national level.

By James Claver, founder and director, Ecoware H

What If All Compostable Materials Actually Became Beautiful Compost? Compostaway, New Zealand’s first nationwide, on-demand collection service for compostable cups, lids, and packaging was borne out of Rachael Neale’s frustration at seeing a lack of education around compostable packaging materials going into general waste. Most Kiwis assume these materials just automatically turn into compost. In truth, when these materials are tossed into landfill, without the right environment, they don’t breakdown the way people believe.

“I have a company called Solve Group and that’s where my mind naturally goes - it sees a problem and starts thinking, there’s got to be a solution for this,” Neale explained. “The issue was clear, we have limited facilities around the country who actually accept compostable packaging. Almost every person I talked to had no idea that if compostable packaging went into landfill it wouldn’t just magically turn into beautiful compost.” Herein lies the disconnect that Neale and the team at Compostaway are keen to correct in the minds of New Zealand consumers. Even if compostable packaging does breakdown in landfill, it will never turn into the type of compost that can be re-used to grow other things. It means that compostable packaging isn’t getting a chance to be the regenerative material it was designed to be.

“The whole point of compostable packaging is that we can can close a loop and have a truly regenerative product,” noted Neale.

“The core of me believes that most people want to do the right thing, they understand there’s a problem, but they have no clue how to solve the problem. Compostaway makes it easy for Kiwis to do the right thing with their compostable packaging wherever they are in New Zealand.”

Compostaway, which was launched just prior to the first COVID outbreak in 2020, started with coffee cups, realising that this was one of the most recognisable issues. Most takeaway coffee cups and lids these days are made from compostable materials, unfortunately the majority of them still end up in landfill.

While most hospitality venues have been on the composting bandwagon for years, using

BOX PICK UP & DELIVERY CYCLE

compostable coffee cups and containers, the disconnect happens when the product still ends up going in the bin. The solution had to be fit for purpose, inexpensive and easy.

“I also knew the solution had to be nationwide, because the facilities in say, Auckland, differ greatly from composting facilities in other parts of the country, so I started looking at the national courier system and how we could work with that,” continued Neale.

“The box needed to be easy to use, but also attractive and public facing, communicating clearly that a business was doing the right thing with their waste, so we designed a box that could be sent by courier as a flat pack.”

Businesses using Compostaway receive three boxes each delivery, and payment includes everything: the custom designed boxes, delivery, pickup, sorting and composting. Delivering the boxes in sets of three means businesses aren’t left without a receptacle when couriers start to pick up full boxes, and also cuts down on the amount of deliveries required, helping reduce unnecessary carbon emissions.

Businesses can take as long or as little as they like to fill the box without a monthly subscription fee, and are not locked into any fixed contracts.

Full Box? Simply use the QR code on the back of the box to order your courier pickup. Businesses are also prompted to order their next set of boxes when they need them based on their courier activity, to ensure they always have a complete station. All boxes go back to

Compostaway for sorting before being taken to a partner commercial composting facility.

Schools Get on Board

Last year, Compostaway was contacted by schools wanting to dispose of their compostable waste in the right way.

“We started with cups and lids, but we soon realised there was the opportunity to do more. When schools contacted us we reassessed our systems, because those in the lunch programme don’t need a front facing receptacle the way a restaurant or café does.”

Compostaway has developed its website to accommodate different kinds of collection. The team then completed a trial with a school at the end of last year which saw 29.6kgs of compostable packaging diverted from just one day of lunches. That’s approximately 150kgs per week, and 6 tonnes per year, of compostable packaging diverted away from landfill, from just one school!

The system uses QR codes which are linked to the courier system in a take back scheme. When a school has a full box, they simply scan the QR code which takes them into their account where they can order a courier pick up.

It’s all about ease, school educators are busy, and school lunch suppliers often supply multiple schools at once. The Compostaway system takes away the hassle of having to find the right composting facility in the right area to accommodate schools and suppliers of any and all sizes.

“We’re really excited about this year, we’re really looking forward to providing a solution for schools and kura,” concluded Neale

“We are happy that our system can provide an easy and affordable way for these great lunch suppliers to do the right thing with their packaging while feeding hungry Kiwi kids.” For more information about how Compostaway can help your businesses or school with your waste, visit www. compostaway.co.nz H

Switching to takeaway or delivery?

GREEN CHOICE HAS YOU COVERED!

Transforming Recycling in Aotearoa

Too much rubbish is ending up in landfills and our environment which is why the New Zealand Government is keen to hear your views on proposals to transform recycling in Aotearoa.

THE THREE PROPOSALS ARE:

A Container Return Scheme

A container return scheme (CRS) incentivises people to return their empty beverage containers for recycling and/or refilling in exchange for a small refundable deposit.

Our existing systems don’t incentivise people to recycle beverage containers, particularly away from home (such as, at a park or beach, while at work, traveling or eating out).

A CRS is complementary to kerbside recycling systems, as it improves recycling outcomes both at and away from home. The main aim of a CRS is to collect as many beverage containers as possible, so that more containers can be recycled and fewer containers are littered, stockpiled or landfilled.

A NZ CRS could increase beverage container recovery to 85 per cent or higher, which means that the scheme could receive over 2 billion beverage containers annually for recycling. This would see an increase of over 1 billion containers recycled annually.

Improvements to Household Kerbside Recycling

Kerbside recycling and food scraps collections are the main way households divert waste from landfill, returning

resources to the economy and reducing climate emissions from our waste.

Currently only a third of household materials placed at kerbside are collected for recycling, with the rest placed in the rubbish. More than 300,000 tonnes of food scraps are sent to New Zealand landfills every year, rotting and producing methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

The proposals aim to increase the quality and quantity of materials collected for recycling, reducing climate emissions, recycling resources through our economy and returning nutrients to our soil.

Separation of Food Scraps from General Waste for all Businesses

Food waste is estimated to contribute 22 percent of New Zealand’s emissions from landfills that accept general household and business waste.

To meet our national emissions targets, the Climate Change Commission has recommended we aim to reduce emissions from all landfills by at least 40 percent by 2035.

To reduce food waste sent to landfill, the Government is proposing that all businesses should separate food waste from general waste and that households should be provided with a kerbside food scraps collection

Feedback is being sought on this proposal and what this would mean for businesses, expecting that all businesses would need to provide space for one or more separate food waste bins and train staff to use them.

To have your say and to be involved in informational webinars on the proposed changes, visit www.environment.govt.nz H