RecycleKiwi helps Gore’s recycling heroes combat contamination
In the heart of Gore, the Pakeke Lions Club have taken on the role of managing the town’s recycling. Driven by their love for keeping Gore beautiful, up to 20 Pakeke Lions members arrive every morning to prepare recyclables for their next phase at Fullcircle, where they’re repurposed as part of the circular economy.
And they’re all volunteers aged 72-87.
As the Gore District Council does not operate a recycling facility, the Pakeke Lions have been tirelessly sorting and compacting recyclables since 2004.
CrestClean Southland Master Franchisee Steve Willis has long admired the work of the Pakeke Lions and he’s making it his mission to improve the sorting and cleaning processes before recyclables reach the plant. Steve believes RecycleKiwi holds the key to simplifying waste management and overcoming the plant’s main issue of recycling contamination.
“At the end of the day, all it takes is a dirty yoghurt tub and the whole recycling bin is contaminated,” says Steve.
“Every contaminant is a problem.”
Steve’s introducing RecycleKiwi to CrestClean customers, encouraging a collective effort to help the Pakeke Lions.
“We’re trying to educate our customers around waste separation to make it easier for the recyclers,” says Steve.
On a recent visit to customers at Mataura Valley Milk, Steve saw their dedication to improving sustainability efforts. He invited Harry Aitken and Sandy Smith from Mataura Valley Milk to visit the Pakeke Lions recycling facility and learn more about their operations and challenges.
During the visit, Steve introduced RecycleKiwi to show how the programme promotes waste separation and reduces recycling contamination. Using RecycleKiwi’s short videos, he was also able to clearly explain the new nationwide recycling standards.
“The videos are a really easy way to get the message out there,” he says.
“They’re so simple to follow.”
Mataura Valley Milk is already dedicated to sustainable practices and shares RecycleKiwi’s philosophy to reduce, reuse and recycle. Sandy has been working alongside Mataura Valley Milk’s ‘Green Teams’ to improve waste management across all areas of the business and found the visit to the Pakeke Lions highly valuable.
“We’re all about raising awareness and helping our team understand recycling, and the associated benefits,” Sandy says.
With two lunchrooms running 24/7 and a team of 115, RecycleKiwi’s clear signage will help employees sort waste properly and ensure recyclables reach the Pakeke Lions ready to be processed. Sandy says RecycleKiwi is already helping to minimise landfill waste.
“We have seen a great reduction in waste to landfill in the last 12 months at MVM, we are confident with these extra steps will continue to build on that,” Sandy says.
Implementing a large-scale recycling programme doesn’t have to be complicated, and RecycleKiwi makes the process as straightforward as possible. At the next Green Teams meeting, Sandy hopes to share the RecycleKiwi pack and videos with the wider team.
It’s the genuine love for their community that has driven the Gore Pakeke Lions to commit 20 years to recycling efforts. Steve will encourage more businesses and schools in the area to adopt RecycleKiwi and tackle the critical challenge of recycling contamination.
