People often talk to me at the Waste Zero stall at the Sunday market, confused about what we at Waste Zero Whakatane do, what we take, why we do it, and what our goal is. I’ve been volunteering at Waste Zero Whakatane for the last two years. My name is Jack Karetai-Barrett. I’m a year nine student at Whakatane High School, and a change maker in the waste space.
Whenever I’m at the stall, we always have someone who
doesn’t know about us, or who does not know what they can recycle. That’s the
reason why I asked the Beacon editor, Whaea Neryda, if I could start writing a
monthly column for the paper.
While Waste Zero Whakatane is a community volunteering group
that is supporting the community to zero waste, we know that we are a long way
away from achieving that. Alongside working towards zero waste, we are helping
our community to understand how best to manage the waste it produces.
On the first Sunday of every month, we open up our Sunday
market stall for people to come to talk with us, and to bring waste items we
collect on the day. When we are at our stall, you can bring in the following
items:
- Household batteries, please keep dry and secure
- Energy efficient light bulbs, (e.g. CFLs, LEDS)
- Colgate and Ecostore dental products (toothpaste tubes and caps, toothbrushes, floss containers) and packaging.
- Food storage containers, cling film, zip/snap lock bags
- Metal bottle tops, caps and tabs.
- Razors - blades, handles and packaging.
- Natural fibre clothing (cotton, linen, silk), and also socks.
From now on, every month I am going to write a column
talking about a different waste stream, so you know what you can recycle in our
community, and how to do it. As I write this I am really happy to read that the
supermarkets will soon be completely free of single use plastic bags. We are
making progress towards a waste-free future, one less bag at a time. Keep up
the good work!
To find out when our team of volunteers will be at the
Sunday Market, join our Waste Zero Whakatane Facebook page.
I really thank you for reading this,
Jack.
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