Northern Monthly Meeting Quakers become recycling ambassadors Waitangi 2020

EcoSolutions, a Northland social enterprise which aims to create jobs and protect the environment assisted the Waitangi Trust towards a zero waste Waitangi Day commemoration.

Local Friends actively involved with the Zero Waste movement first invited Quakers further afield to join them as recycling ambassadors in 2019, and it has become an annual event combining service and outreach.

Those involved committed to a 2 hour shift during which ‘rubbish’ was guided to the appropriate bin – compost (Green), recycle (Yellow) or rubbish (Red).  It helped that the Waitangi Trust had required all on-site food vendors to use compostable or recyclable packaging.

It was great to participate and feel as if we were helping the environment and making a contribution to Waitangi Day. There were warm responses of “thank you for your mahi”.  It was also good to realise that, not only were we helping with the rubbish on the day, there was significant educational value from asking people to think about where their rubbish goes and sort it rather than all ending up in one rubbish bin and the landfill.