NICOLA YOUNG: Centennial call for more change

Nicola Young

This is my 100th column in the mighty Wanganui Chronicle.

I pitched it to the editor nearly two years ago when a shift to Taranaki meant I was withdrawing from my plans to stand for the district council but still wanted to stay involved in the local community.

And by stay involved, I meant sticky-beak, have my five cents' worth - whatever you want to call it.

The concept was a focus on sustainability success stories, especially local ones, and there are plenty of those. One of my favourite homegrown grassroots initiatives is The Koha Shed. They haven't needed any cheerleading from me of late, featuring in the paper, social media and on TV - recognised for their efforts helping people with little get their lives set up, whether post-flood or not.

Then, there are local businesses like Mint, supporting Plunket, and the incredibly resilient River Traders Market stall operators, who don't let a one-in-85-year flood get in their way.

In the past few weeks, I've noticed progress on a couple of my pet topics - plastic bags and free-range eggs. While I don't think I can claim any credit for these moves, I am happy to see them happen.

On the single-use plastic bag front, I'm pleased to see a step in the right direction by the Government. There's going to be a trial of recycling plastic bags in Auckland, extending to other parts of the country over time.

That's the good news; however, this move won't reduce plastic bag use, estimated at one billion bags in New Zealand every year. More can be done.

My small effort for Plastic-Free July is probably a retro move rather than a radical innovation - I now use a plate to cover up my bowl of leftovers in the fridge, rather than reaching for the gladwrap.

In my backyard, it's good to see New Plymouth District Council upgrading its kerbside recycling. We'll be supplied with wheelie bins to use for free pick-up of our recycling. I have found it quite ironic that the requirement for recycling here, up until now, has been to tie up your recycling in shopping bags!

This change means no more justification of "I need plastic bags for the recycling" when I get to the checkout at the supermarket after forgetting my reusable shopping bags ...

Another step in the right direction is from McDonald's. They've made a commitment to only use free range eggs from the end of 2016. Apparently, once McDonald's has made the move, they will account for about 9 per cent of all free range eggs sold in NZ - 13 million eggs. It's great to see that pressure from consumers can drive positive change.

If I could wish for a move in the right direction on another pet topic, it would be the refugee quota. It hasn't increased since 1987. Vocal disappointment is growing and I think it's only a matter of time before it is bumped up, even under this Government.

Now I might be optimistic by nature but I'm not so naive to believe a stronger position on climate change is coming in the near future. While the profile given to climate sceptics is dropping, as it should, in NZ at least we are still far from political and policy solutions.

If you'd like to be challenged, read the creative and visionary piece released by award-winning author Margaret Atwood just this week, "It's not climate change - it's everything change". As Atwood points out, there is the option of a more sustainable future.

And it's already happening in places like Dunedin's Blueskin Bay with their community-owned wind farm.

Climate change has almost certainly been my top pet topic in the past 100 columns - let's hope it doesn't take another 100 columns before I can compliment the Government on a stronger action.

-Nicola Young has worked in the government and private sectors in Australia and NZ and now works from home in Taranaki for a national charitable foundation. Educated at Wanganui Girls' College, she has a science degree and is the mother of two boys.