Elephants drop the goods on cutting back waste

The elephants at Auckland Zoo could teach other Aucklanders a thing or two about recycling.

While the city's human population lags behind the rest of the country in making any use of solids washed down the toilet Burma and Kashin are already contributing their considerable solid waste to the Zoodoo compost.

The Zoodoo plant has recently moved from Henderson on to the zoo site so the zoo's grass clippings and other garden wastes can be added to the traditional compost mix of animal effluent and used straw bedding.

The result is expected to be a doubling of the present Zoodoo output of about 150 bags a week - still using the existing nine workers from the Waitemata District Health Board's Second Chance Enterprises.

In just three months, the zoo has also cut the leftover wastes it sends to the tip by 60 per cent. The goal is to halve that again in the next year.

"We're still sending waste from the cafes to the landfill but we hope to try to compost that here," said Andrew James, who made the changes.

He spent most of his life as an engineer on building sites before joining the zoo two years ago as its asset manager, responsible for maintaining buildings and facilities.

"The director asked me to start looking at environmental things in the zoo, saying it's part of my budget," he said.

"That's how it started. I think we've exceeded what anybody thought would be possible."

As well as boosting the Zoodoo plant, Mr James has increased recycling from the public by installing rubbish containers with a big opening for general rubbish and a small slot for plastic drink bottles.

The system has completely stopped people throwing general rubbish into the plastics bin.

"When school groups are in, you see them say to each other to put them in the right thing," said Mr James.