Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Waste minimisation initiative attracts major funding

By Imran Ali
Northern Advocate·
17 Jul, 2017 06:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Associate Minister for Environment Scott Simpson and Love Kaipara founder Victoria del la Varis-Woodcock during the funding announcement in Dargaville. PHOTO/IMRAN ALI

Associate Minister for Environment Scott Simpson and Love Kaipara founder Victoria del la Varis-Woodcock during the funding announcement in Dargaville. PHOTO/IMRAN ALI

An initiative to make Kaipara wastefree has received $163,000 funding to go towards waste minimisation education across the district, including schools and at the annual field days.

Love Kaipara, a company that inspires people to care for the environment and reduce waste will receive $133,650 from the Ministry of Environment's Waste Minimisation Fund and an additional $29,440 from the Kaipara District Council.

Read more: Whanganui Mayor calls for levy on plastic bags

The company was formed last year by Kaipara resident Victoria del la Varis-Woodcock after she undertook a pilot project in 2015 in four schools and with 360 students who were taught ways to reduce different waste such as plastic, glass, tin, aluminium, and steel.

While doing a masters in politics, Ms del la Varis-Woodcock realised there was a lack of public awareness and education about waste minimisation and did research on the issue before applying for funding from the ministry and KDC.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"There was a broader lack of awareness across Kaipara about waste minimisation and I think we need to teach people that all waste, be they plastic, aluminium, or steel, comes from the Earth and so they need to be managed.

"Schools often have an environment focus such as tree planting and have vegetable gardens but now a lot of schools in Kaipara have begun waste minimisation by doing things like worm farms, composting and smart shopping," she said.

Apart from schools, she said there was also a push to make the Northland Field Days a waste-free event by 2022.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She could not say how much waste, mostly food stall packaging, was generated over the field days but said it was significant.

Wheelie bins with separate recyclables and compostables were one of the ways to achieve waste reduction at the field days, she said.

Associate Environment Minister Scott Simpson made the funding announcement at the Northern Wairoa War Memorial Town Hall in Dargaville yesterday. The money will fund waste minimisation education in 36 schools across Kaipara over the next three years and will also be used to print 9000 flyers and media campaigns.

Mr Simpson said the joint funding had the potential to make a huge impact throughout Kaipara.

"We know so much of what we throw away are either reusable or recyclable and if we can minimise the waste we send to the landfill, that will have obvious environment benefits.

"We live in a fast-moving environment where we're producing more waste but at some point people will need to understand the impact non-waste minimisation can have on the environment," he said.

Kaipara mayor Greg Gent praised the initiative, saying anything that minimised waste must be encouraged.

The Waste Minimisation Fund is funded from a levy charged on waste disposed off at landfills throughout the country.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

'I didn’t have time to think': Well-known local rescues woman from rising flood

Northern Advocate

'Frankly dangerous': Gang member's alleged reckless driving near police lands him in court

Northern Advocate

Invasive sea spurge found at Spirits Bay, threatening native plants


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

'I didn’t have time to think': Well-known local rescues woman from rising flood
Northern Advocate

'I didn’t have time to think': Well-known local rescues woman from rising flood

Roddy Pihema saved a woman and her dog from rising floodwaters in Kawakawa.

16 Jul 06:00 AM
'Frankly dangerous': Gang member's alleged reckless driving near police lands him in court
Northern Advocate

'Frankly dangerous': Gang member's alleged reckless driving near police lands him in court

16 Jul 04:04 AM
Invasive sea spurge found at Spirits Bay, threatening native plants
Northern Advocate

Invasive sea spurge found at Spirits Bay, threatening native plants

16 Jul 04:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP