Kaitiakitanga
SUSTAINABILITY
This embraces the guardianship of the whenua/land.
We therefore operate with care of the planet at the heart of our services.
We are very proud of our recycling processes operating within our business.
A substantial amount of money is spent on bio-degradable
and compostable products and collection of our recyclable materials.
All food is collected in the Kai to compost bins.
We have 99% commercially compostable disposable products.
We recycle our Oil, Plastics, Glass and all Food Waste.
Kai to Compost is an environmentally-conscious food waste collection service
for medium to large organic waste producers in Wellington city.
Food (Kai) is collected in allocated bins and is collected daily,
then delivered to the Council's commercial compost facility,
mixed with green waste and turned into compost that is sold for use
locally Council approved bio- degradable products
(e.g. unbleached serviettes, bio-degradable card/bamboo containers, and paper towels etc)
are also disposed of in the Kai to compost bins.
CLOSING THE LOOP
Our main supplier for all our disposable items is Innocent Packaging.
Every city seems to have a different rule about ‘what can go where’ and what can be accepted at local composting plants varies dramatically across the country.
All biodegradable items that are not allowed in our kai to compost bins are like any waste stream, compostable packaging can also be problematic when disposed of in the incorrect way.
It doesn’t belong in your general waste, but also doesn’t belong in your recycling bin.
The best option is a commercial compost facility.Innocent packaging have set up a new collection system where there disposables are collected and taken care of by their team in their allocated commercial composts.
Glass Waste
All glass is collected for recycling as part of the Waste Watch programme
and by commercial suppliers due to the quantities we use.
Glass bins are collected daily and taken to central locations in the Wellington region.
This process is huge in reducing the amount of landfill we produce.
Plastics & Aluminium
The same process as with the glass the bins, applies to our plastics and aluminium bins recycling.
Again, a large amount of product that does not end up in our landfills.
Cardboard & Paper
One of the largest bins due to product packaging.
Flattened and placed in the cardboard bin, and collected 3-4 times a week.
Waste Oil
Collected on request, then treated and recycled for products such as soaps, bio-fuels and stock feeds.
General Rubbish
Since changing to the above recycling system we have reduced our general waste by 70%.
It is an ongoing process in educating our team on the need to be vigilant in recycling,
but it is an system that we will continue to use, bio-fuels and stock feeds.