Inaugural Waste Not grants cover range of waste minimisation projects

Nearly $100,000 has been granted to 13 applicants to Waitakere City Council’s inaugural Waste Not Fund granting round. A further seven projects will receive “in-kind” support.

The successful grantees were chosen by a committee of Councillors Hulse, Neeson and Battersby, from 35 applications, and ratified at the July Finance and Operational Performance Committee (FOP).

“It was wonderful to see the community taking responsibility for sustainability initiatives and the range and scale of what is being attempted is exciting,” says the FOP chairman, Councillor Ross Clow.

“This is the eco city in action. It is not the council imposing solutions but the people of the city taking up the challenge to transform sustainability from words into practical actions that individually and collectively will take us forward,” he says.

Five cents from every Waitakere City official grey, user pays, refuse bag provides the funding for the scheme, which is designed to promote and support as many waste minimisation initiatives as possible in the city.

The grants ranged from $324 to the Oratia School’s Zero Waste Bokashi Trial to $18,040 for Project Full Circle’s commercial organic waste composting trial. Bokashi is a form of composting and Project Full Circle aims to divert commercial organic waste, such as that from supermarkets, away from landfills to be composted.

The most sophisticated project was the Weedfree Trust’s pyrolysis/biochar pre-feasibility study. Pyrolysis is a way of heating biodegradable substances without oxygen, with one of the possible by-products being a form of charcoal called biochar. Biochar is beneficial to plant growth. This was granted $4,500.

Of the 13 recipients, 12 were organisations, including Charlie’s Trading Company which received $10,000 towards Project Rinse, a bottle washing system to allow drink bottles to be returned and re-used. Westgate Shopping Centre was granted $10,600 to assist with trialling recycling bins for the public and recycling facilities for businesses in the mall. Henderson Valley School received $10,000 to upgrade its boiler from coal fuel to woodchip technology, while Envision New Zealand, an environmental and economic development consultancy, was granted $7,500 towards the establishment of a Product Stewardship Council.

Low Impact Limited was granted $12,874 to trial a commercial scale, modular worm farm and Vision Waitakere Gardens (a gardening group within the retirement complex) received $7,100 for purchasing a worm farm for the complex.

Of the remainder, The Manawanui Ariki Charitable Trust was granted $5,000 for a youth initiative using recycled materials; Henderson Valley Play Centre will use its $1995 to buy a paper recycling press; and the New Zealand Nepalese Association received $1,000 to educate Nepalese immigrants in minimising household refuse.

The other grant was to an individual, Adam Buckingham, who is making 100 activity centres for pre-schools, using waste materials.

This brought the total granted to $93,733.

Seven other initiatives will receive “in-kind” (non-cash) support. The Council will offer training to the Alalofa a Sasae and the Auckland Nui Community Trust for their members to run sustainable living courses. Green Bay Kindergarten, Kelston Intermediate School, St Dominic’s College and Waitakere College Environmental Group will be offered kerbside recycling bins, discounted compost bins, information materials and similar, for waste reduction projects.

“Waste Not in Massey” will receive information displays to use at the Massey community’s Te Raa Mokopuna Day 2009.