The team at Res.Awesome is excited to announce our upcoming event, The Waste Warrior Workshop which will be held on February 16th. This workshop is specifically designed to encourage behaviour change - which is the key component in reducing Aotearoa’s waste flow. Knowing what can be recycled and how is the first step in ensuring we are recycling responsibly. In this workshop we cover a wide variety of topics. We will learn about where our products come from and the materials used to make them. We will cover where our waste goes and explore the whole system; from the extraction of resources, to disposal.

The global population has recently turned its collective attention to the imminent threat of global warming and the dire effects it will have on our flora, fauna and iwi. It is no wonder most businesses are concerned about maintaining a clean, green image. To turn a blind eye to the damage being done to our world, would seem callous and uncaring - which would not be good for business!

The team at Res.Awesome would like to draw our followers’ attention to a retailer in New Zealand making great strides towards a circular waste system. Mitre 10 have launched a new initiative designed to keep plant pots out of our landfills. Mitre 10’s Pot Recycle is a practical closed-loop solution designed to stop plant and seedling pots ending up in landfills. This scheme has rolled out nationwide for your convenience! New Zealand has seen many kiwi’s fall back in love with gardening, partly due to lockdowns and more people working from home. We are stoked to see more kiwi’s spending time with their hands in the dirt; getting back to nature.

Forking over our hard-earned cash for new household appliances is something that can quite easily send some of us into a tailspin. Perusing the aisles of Briscoes comparing warranty offers and sniffing out good deals is all part of the routine. We do everything we can to avoid wasting our dollars on an item that may not stand the test of time.

Unfortunately, replacing faulty or worn-out appliances and technology is something we have grown rather used to. The good old days of buying products built to test the tale of time are long over, with “lifetime guarantees” reserved for $450 pairs of boots or rare scores found in the dead of night after hours of scrolling through web forums.

When it comes to Recycling, us kiwi’s would love to think we are upholding the clean, green identity Aotearoa is so famed for. Unfortunately, the results of a recent Consumer NZ led assessment revealed that New Zealand is pretty low on the environmental leader board. Brazil and New Zealand proved to be the worst countries for practical recycling rates; we don’t have the means to recycle around 57% of our packaging and Brazil is unable to process 92% of its recycling. The countries with the best recycling rates were Hong Kong, closely followed by Portugal.

When it comes to living a zero waste or simply, sustainable life there are many things that appear to get in the way of our mission. There are also many factors that seem to help us on our journey. The team at Res.Awesome would like to take this opportunity to explore some barriers that hinder our progress and on the flipside, some motivators that fuel our momentum.

Recycle A Device is an initiative aiming to reuse our resources, improve public knowledge and facilitate change in the technology sector from a community based perspective. Recycle A Device encourages businesses, schools, learning institutions and individuals to participate in a circular waste economy. Upcoming updates in stewardship regulations will hopefully become better understood by our communities, enabling best sustainability practices.

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"MOANA HOUSE IS A WELL-ESTABLISHED RESIDENTIAL THERAPEUTIC COMMUNITY FOR ADULT MALE OFFENDERS WHO WANT TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES AND BEHAVIOUR FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THEMSELVES, THEIR WHANAU AND THEIR COMMUNITIES."

"Since 1984, we have taken the initiative to provide genuine therapeutic services for adult male offenders who wish to change their lives for the greater good."

Many of Moana House’s residents may also have a history of alcohol and/or drug abuse. They wish to provide a supportive family environment and a safe place to change.

The sun is shining here in the deep south which means silly season is upon us! Many of us are privileged enough to have some time off and a bit of pocket money to play with, allowing us to feast and frolic with loved ones. We get away with socialising more, saying ‘heck yes!’ to dessert and even popping open that cheap bottle of bubbles before midday. Afternoon naps, long bushwalks and taking any opportunity to whip out our favourite set of frightfully tiny togs to embarrass the better half with are just a handful of activities we may find ourselves indulging in over summer. One area of our lives we hope we won’t get too carried away with this silly season is the amount of waste we bring into our homes. If you are struggling to think of a gift idea for that person who just seems to have everything, try and resist the urge to run out and buy a silly, novelty gift that will probably end up shoved in a drawer somewhere…. or worse, in a landfill! For many, gifting is a ceremonial way of showing we care and a part of Christmas time we are just not ready to part with. So the team at Res.Awesome are here to share some tips on how to keep the waste flow not-so-silly this silly season!

As a planet, we churn out 2.01 billion tonnes of waste every year, with over 33% of which not being dealt with in a manner deemed environmentally safe (World Bank Group, 2020). Each resident of Aotearoa pumps around 401kgs of waste into our landfills every year - and that is just in a domestic setting. That doesn’t take into account our workplace waste or the rubbish we produce when we are out and about. Often we are doing damage to our natural environment without even realising it. This makes the sustainability movement very important so what exactly is zero waste?

We are here to talk about the latest proposal for a $350 million project which entails building a Waste to Energy Plant in Waimate. This proposed ‘solution’ to our waste problem would aim to see our waste transported to Waimate by the truckload and then incinerated; harvesting energy to be pumped back into Kiwi homes and various businesses via electricity. While this is a lovely idea that many believe would see our waste problem disappear, the facts just do not support that there are benefits to this business venture.