Many of us don’t think twice about dipping into our local coffee shop to grab a cup of Joe on our way to work or nabbing a pre-made smoothie from the supermarket when our mornings become a little too hectic to make ourselves a proper breakfast. While we may consider ourselves lucky to have such convenient options, the fast and casual nature of takeaway dining habits are not holding up so well on the sustainability front. The fast-paced nature of modern life often means we find ourselves participating in a ‘throwaway culture’ in which our food packaging and service-ware are designed to be disposable.

Takeaway containers, plastic bottles, glass bottles, plastic bags, boxes, condiment packets, plastic cutlery, coffee cups, lids and napkins are a massive part of the hospitality supply chain. These items are ultimately made from our finite natural resources and used for a very brief moment; only to end up in the trash, polluting the earth they were initially derived from. 

At Res.Awesome we believe that if consumers had the choice, they would prefer to still enjoy the convenience of casual dining without the guilt of excessive and harmful waste. The great news is that there are many teams of waste crusaders around the world initiating an alternative, reuse economy. Circular waste systems are the original way of nature and the way of the future.

Natural ecosystems work harmoniously. All wildlife and resources find their perfect place in regenerative life cycles. We believe that we can model this in our pursuit of a zero-waste future. A Circular waste economy has some key goals:

• Eliminate waste and pollution

• Circulate resources and products to be reused whilst getting the most out of them

• Regenerate and value Papatūānuku above all else

  Achieving a circular waste economy will require action on many levels and will mean we must transition to using only renewable materials and energy sources. Check out more info about transitioning to a circular, zero-waste economy in our latest blog. 

Container and Bottle Return Schemes are a key component of reducing our waste flow in pursuit of a zero waste future. In New Zealand, around one billion new plastic bottles are made and disposed of in our landfills every year. This number is wild!

Where each of these bottles ends up is anyone’s guess! But we do know a siginifcant portion of this waste ends up polluting our oceans and marine life. Once in our water, pollution ends up leaking into our bodies somewhere down the track; which is pretty scary! To read about the significant damage being done by microplastics check out our previous work here. (If you are looking for a product to help detox your home from microplastics check out this awesome product available for purchase on our online store!)

The Campaign for a Container Return Scheme in Aotearoa is in full motion thanks to hardworking individuals and action groups. Find some of these do-gooders and check out an overview here. In New Zealand there is existing legislation that opens up opportunities for a nationwide Container Return Scheme to be initiated - this falls under the Waste Minimisation Act 2008. Unfortunately, the implementation of such a strategy depends on political motivations - which are clearly lacking.

A beverage Container Return Scheme (CRS) is about reusing and recycling more drinks bottles, cans and cartons, and making sure that they don’t end up as litter in the wrong places – like gutters, streams, beaches and parks. It’s quite simple, really – all drinks carry a deposit (20 cents is good!) that you pay when you buy a drink. You get this money back when you return the empty container to an official return location.

The deposit is the secret sauce that gives everyone a reason to return their empties to the right place, rather than putting them in the rubbish. It also gives empty bottles and cans a value – that means that if you’re doing a good thing and picking up littered bottles and cans, you can cash those in for the deposit too, even if you weren’t the person who bought the drink.

Thankfully there are many motivated individuals and communities around Aotearoa who are dedicated to protecting nature. In our next blog we will be doing a deep dive on the Kiwi Bottle Drive! This is an initiative designed with the aim of educating the public AND our politicians on the many benefits of a comprehensive Container Return Scheme. The Kiwi Bottle Drive is New Zealand’s campaign for bottle deposits. They have been working alongside communities, councils and organisations for over 20 years to get a bottle deposit scheme and start building a zero-waste society. And they are so close!

Help them get the right scheme for Aotearoa by filling in this petition. This petition is aimed at the Minister for the Environment, David Parker. We want him to support a comprehensive, all inclusive CRS; not a weak, watered-down scheme that won’t tackle our waste crisis.

The team at Res.Awesome, along with many other community activators, believe this issue is an urgent one. In 2019 the government announced it would implement a Container Return Scheme - which felt like a mini victory!

Sadly, industry groups have struggled to compromise and work together to find versions of the scheme to suit each individual interest. We understand that for such a scheme to succeed, it would absolutely need to be fair, comprehensive, all inclusive, equitably designed with maximum benefits being funneled back into our communities and managed by the right people. We want to put some pressure on our Minister for the Environment as it feels like the pursuit of practical Container Return Schemes has slowed to a crawl. Join the fight and speak up. Watch this space for more info about zero waste tactics and the great kiwi’s at the Kiwi Bottle Drive.

xxx

Researched + written by Erin Cox

Edited by Fi Clements