Plenty of mess, no fuss

Whanau from Oturu Marae in Kaitaia going through their waste as part of the Para Kore zero waste programme. Photo / Supplied

In a bid to become cleaner and greener, whanau from a Far North marae have made a bit of a mess first.

Emptying rubbish on to tarpaulins and sorting through the contents is just one stage of a programme aimed at encouraging marae to be waste-free.

Zero waste programme Para Kore has been rolled out in the Far North, with Te Tii Marae in Waitangi and Oturu Marae in Kaitaia already signed up and hui organised at six more marae across the rohe.

Te Hiku waste adviser for Para Kore, Jaroz Popata, said waste was particularly a problem in the Far North because of the long distance to transfer stations.

"Sometimes people end up burning and burying the rubbish and that's a big issue. Some of the marae are quite isolated," she said.

Mrs Popata had been visiting marae in the region to talk about the kaupapa of the zero waste programme. If marae are keen to jump on board they sign a "one-pager" contract to signify the partnership. The next step involves emptying rubbish bins to audit marae waste, followed by an educational wananga about waste management.

"Basically we empty all the content of the rubbish bins on to a tarpaulin and separate it into different categories - plastics, papers, aluminium - and once they're separated we can see just how much needs to go to landfill and what can be recycled. Usually about 60 per cent can be recycled," she said.

According to the Para Kore website 90 tonnes of waste had been diverted from landfill thanks to the programme, which is funded primarily by the Ministry for the Environment's waste minimisation fund.

The programme now has waste advisers nationwide to help every marae work towards zero waste by 2020.

Mrs Popata said becoming waste-free aligned with the views of Maori.

"For me, working with our people to uphold our kaitiaki [guardian] role is just awesome. We have a responsibility to look after Papatuanuku and by reducing our waste, recycling and composting, we are doing just that."

Mrs Popata said Para Kore provided free bilingual signage to let whanau know what to do with rubbish, along with free waste bins.

-Marae whanau who are keen to get involved can contact Jaroz on 020 406 80954 or tehiku@parakore.maori.nz