Waipa District Council partnered with Ecostore for the free product giveaway last weekend. Pictured outside the Te Awamutu Library is Katie Hine (right) from Waipa District Council’s waste minimisation team, which organised the event, and Jacquie Griffin (who is not from Waipa District Council but was contracted to assist with the event).
Waipa District Council partnered with Ecostore for the free product giveaway last weekend. Pictured outside the Te Awamutu Library is Katie Hine (right) from Waipa District Council’s waste minimisation team, which organised the event, and Jacquie Griffin (who is not from Waipa District Council but was contracted to assist with the event).
More than 150 people headed to Plastic Free July events hosted by Waipā District Council in Cambridge and Te Awamutu over the weekend, refilling their used containers for free with environmentally-friendly Ecostore handwash and dishwashing liquid.
It was all part of a collaborative effort between Council and Ecostore to encourage Waipā residents to reuse their containers before recycling them and promote participation in Plastic Free July.
Council Waste Minimisation Officer Sally Fraser said it was fantastic to see so many residents keen to embrace the reduce and reuse first, before recycling.
“The three R’s message is already well known and the team was thrilled to have so many great discussions about how people are already reusing containers in multiple ways. Being able to partner with Ecostore on such a great initiative is a way of rewarding people who are looking to reduce their single use plastic use.”
Discount stickers for further refills of Ecostore products were also given out at the stalls. Anyone with a sticker can head to Forage in Cambridge, as well as the Bin Inn and The Storeroom in Te Awamutu, for 10 per cent off refills until 31 December 2019.
Earlier this year Council entered into a new kerbside recycling contract, providing two new wheelie bins – one for glass and one for tins, cans, paper and plastics – to residents throughout the district. They came into effect on July 1, which led many resident to repurpose their old blue recycling crates, too.
Fraser said while Waipā had an excellent recycling service, it was still important for residents to reuse their containers first before they consider recycling as this will have the greatest impact on sustainability.
For more information on waste minimisation in Waipā and what you can do, head to waipadc.govt.nz/wasteminimisation.
