Unwanted clothing is one of New Zealand’s fastest-growing waste scandals but local action can make a difference. Every year, Waipā residents send the equivalent of 16 shipping containers full of clothes to landfills. However, the Council’s Waste Minimisation advisor Shelley Wilson says op shop bus tours offer punters the chance to check out some outlets Read more
Local organisations campaigning against fast fashion practices want more done in New Zealand. It was a global problem and New Zealand was no exception, with at least half of the 380,000 tonnes of imported textiles each year estimated to end up in landfill. Mindful Fashion chief executive Jacinta Fitzgerald would love to see regulation from Read more
We might think that being greener at home means being more mindful. But Bindi Chouhan and her family of seven, who generate less than five rubbish bins worth of waste per year, say that most sustainable things they do on a daily basis are mindless. The fourth-generation Indian-Zimbabwean grew up in a micro village of Read more
In 2003, I was told by a restaurant owner on a Thai island that local fishermen used to wrap their lunch in banana leaves, which they would then casually toss overboard when done. That was OK, because the leaves decayed and the fish ate the scraps. But in the past decade, he said, while plastic Read more
Home of Compassion Soup Kitchen manager Nance Thomson reacted positively to the news the Government is moving to allow supermarkets and restaurants to be more able to donate perishable food. “Our guests will benefit significantly from the change in law”, she told CathNews. “Our chefs are very creative but will welcome the opportunity to offer Read more
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation reported last week that one-third of the world’s food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted. The organisation pointed the finger of blame at inefficiencies through the food supply chain. Industrialised and developing countries consistently waste or lose around 660m tonnes each year, with rich countries wasting 222m tonnes. Read more