Resource Recovery Overview

Resource Recovery

At Sustainable Papakura we support Auckland Council's vision of a Zero Waste Auckland by 2040. This requires big shifts from all of us in the way we live. Covid 19 restrictions have, for example, demonstrated in a timely way some advantages of a slower pace of life. While some people temporarily enjoyed more quality family time and cleaner air, minimising travel, shopping on line and spending more time at home and locally decreased carbon emissions by 10 percent, enough to make a difference. Mountains came into view, the birds into earshot and both old and new ways of doing things came to the fore. Doing life differently and enjoying it more is at the heart of securing a sustainable future.

Understanding the Problem

We know that when we throw stuff ‘away’ it does not actually disappear. THERE IS NO AWAY.  In Auckland we fill a rugby field to the top of the goal posts with stuff we try to send ‘AWAY’ every week.  It is toxic, producing methane and leachate. The more our landfill bins are contaminated with food waste, the more methane  goes into our atmosphere.

Life-Planet Balance

We're used to re-balancing life and work to improve our quality of life. Now we're learning to balance our own needs with keeping Papatūānuku healthy and treating everything as a valuable resource. Re-imagining our lifestyles means including sustainable living in the quality of life equation and making choices on a daily basis to secure life satisfaction now and to ensure a viable future.

The Waste Management Hierarchy

The Most Effective Ways to Both Avoid and Deal With Waste

At the top of the hierarchy are options which involve human thinking and choices in adopting a lifestyle which minimises waste. Options that are lower down the hierarchy require increased processing and therefore energy consumption including human energy. At the bottom of the hierarchy, energy intensive re-processing is required making this the least desirable action. Our Home Recycling Page has more info on ways that you can implement the strategies laid out in the diagram below.

Community Initiatives - Get Involved!

 Projects

Our community projects demonstrate how we can reduce our environmental impact and improve our wellbeing. They show that with a little bit of imagination and organisation we can not only reduce waste, but also create a more connected and meaningful society.

Getting involved in these projects through regular working bees is a great way to contribute to your community, promote sustainability, and connect with like minded others in your community. It is also an opportunity to learn new skills. 

Sustainable living workshops

Taking part in our regular workshops will give you skills and knowledge to reduce your carbon footprint. These skills will also help you save money and enjoy a more connected and fulfilling life. 

Resource Collection and Sharing

An important part of our mission is to facilitate the sharing of resources within the community which reduces what we throw away and provides access to cheap resources for individuals and organisation's.

Contact us if you have resources that we can reuse or redistribute. We do have limited space though, so this needs to be done in a controlled way. Priority is given to materials we can use for our existing projects, or pass on to people or groups we know have a use for them. 

 Jars & Containers

Used for workshops making health, beauty and cleaning products. These need to be clean, with labels removed please

knitting yarn

for community knitting projects, our own or others

Vegetable Plants

these are welcome for restocking our planters

 fabric

For making beeswax wraps, reusable shopping bags, produce bags, menstrual pads and liners, baby wipes, and other sewing projects. Old t-shirts

 Craft Supplies

At our administrator's discretion depending on upcoming projects. Or if we know a school or preschool group is looking for particular items, we could be a collection and distribution point for these

 Other Items

Please enquire before dropping off as we may or may not be able to take your goods, or we may be able to suggest another diversion for them. Have a look at our Projects to see if you have items that might be useful to those

Collection Point

Our popular Collection Point allows you to drop off hard to recycle items at our base and Monthly Market. Thank you for taking the time to save these items from landfill

See items you can drop off
Items you can drop off