Why a ReWash Truck!
Dunedin has an ambitious goal to become a zero waste city by 2030 and the team at Res.Awesome have an exciting project in the works to help get us there. Tackling our waste problem will require action at all levels; government, local council, businesses and individual consumers. A significant contributor to our local waste problem is Ōtepoti’s food and beverage industry. We believe with a few simple steps, this can change. The hospitality industry’s adoption of single-use products has become a normalised part of dining culture and our Rewash Truck is just the solution.
Clean thinking behind ReWash service.
- The Star
Clutching plastic cutlery and a plastic-coated paper plate could soon be consigned to the dustbin of history.
Dunedin zero waste business Res.Awesome has a better way to consume food and drink at outdoor events.
They plan to create a ‘‘ReWash’’ truck that would be a portable wash station, enabling cutlery, plates and cups to be washed and sterilised. …..
What can the ReWash Truck do for our city?
Each year, around 500 billion single use cups are used globally - on average only 1% of these are recycled. NZ is estimated to use around 295 million disposable cups a year. With each cup producing around 30grams of carbon dioxide, this equals 8850 tonnes of CO2 a year - not including the energy that goes into producing the lids. Fossil fuels, wood, water and power also play into the production of these cups. Most single-use cups are made of mixed materials, which cannot be recycled in NZ. Even cups made of 100% recyclable material often cannot be accepted at recycling plants due to contamination of the cup during use. The plastic lining in disposable packaging, which is designed to withstand hot temperatures and persists long-term in the environment due to its durable nature. These products are only used for an average of fifteen minutes before ending up in the trash. It is time to reevaluate whether the time and energy going into these items is the best use of our valuable resources. At Res.Awesome, we think it’s time for us to ditch the single-use items once and for all.
There are many reasons for us to move away from single-use products. Especially as it is now even harder to make informed choices as a consumer. Many companies claim to be ‘environmentally friendly’ yet their products are made from a variety of bioplastics and mixed materials, making them extremely difficult to recycle or compost. Some refer to this marketing tactic as “greenwashing”. Sadly, most single-use cups are thrown into landfill or even end up in the street. Single-use litter has huge clean-up costs to our communities. A lot of products end up landing on roadsides, beaches, and in rivers. According to a report by the Coastal Cleanup Organization, single-use cups have made the ‘Top 10 most littered item’’ list in the majority of coastal areas.
Single use vs Reusables
A study of single-use products and their carbon emissions noted that reusables are more environmentally friendly than single-use products after around 60-100 uses. This means reusables are less harmful to the environment and contribute less to the greenhouse gas effect than the same number of single-use items. Another study of reusables concludes that a reusable cup deposit system can reach positive environmental impact by just 50 uses, or as few as 10-25, if the washing system used is efficient, and run by green energy. New Zealand is ahead of the game on this one, as 82% of our energy is generated via renewable resources.
It is important to acknowledge that reusables are a long term solution on our journey towards sustainability. Using reusable cups is a step towards being climate positive, rather than idling by in neutral. Reusable products save resources and raw materials, decrease emissions and reduce waste. Although production emissions may be slightly higher for reusables, their ability to be repetitively used counteracts this. Environmentally friendly and water-efficient cleaning systems for our reusable service ware is a vital step if we want to reduce the environmental impact of our beloved hospitality industry.
Ultimately, we are trying to get Dunedin to become a climate positive city. How do we get there and what does this future look like? Res.Awesome wants to eliminate the use of single-use products from the service chain and embrace the use of reusables. Crockery and cutlery already sitting in Dunedin’s amazing second-hand stores are just waiting to be repurposed. Res.Awesome has found a way to make use of our preexisting resources in a safe and environmentally positive way. We intend to build a ReWash Truck that can service our Dunedin city and community events over and over again. Res.Awesome has already secured $24,000 in funding from the Dunedin City Council’s ‘Waste Minimisation Innovation and Development Commercial Grant’ and a further $5000 has been donated by The Packaging Forum. To fully realise our dream we need another $20,000 to purchase the truck that will house the entire operation.
The Rewash Truck will be a one-stop shop to separate waste and move away from single-use products. The truck will be equipped with a commercial dishwasher/steriliser, food trap and everything we need to clean our crockery and cutlery. It will service community events and hugely cut down the cost of using wasteful paper and cardboard alternatives. It will be a participatory experience, encouraging our community to engage with their waste differently. The truck will include a water tank and have the ability to store grey water until it can be properly disposed of. There will be ample storage for crockery and cutlery so it has the capacity to service large crowds of people. The truck will be self-contained and able to service a wide variety of events. Vendors will be provided with reusable plates, bowls, cups and cutlery to serve their customers, which would be returned to the truck for cleaning.
Our aim is to use the truck at both commercial and community events with different price structures, to ensure it will be accessible to all. We already have community support trickling in with a number of festival organisers expressing interest, including the Waitati Music Festival, the Whare Flat Folk Festival and the Moana Nui Festival. Let's build the Rewash Truck for the community, Papatūānuku and our Zero Waste 2030 city goals! Every little bit helps and we have provided a link to our Give A Little page below. Thank you Ōtepoti!
DONATE AT THE LINK BELOW
GIVE A LITTLE: Rewash Infrastructure for Dunedin City
NOTE: $20,000 of this amount is towards the truck, $1000 is for the 5% fee to Give A Little, any extra pūtea will go towards subsidising the ReWash Truck for community events.
