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Sunday, March 14th, 2010 by Admin
A new agricultural plastics recycling campaign, partly funded by the Sustainable Initiatives Fund Trust, aimed at Canterbury farmers has recently been launched by Agpac. Agpac are running a new recycling scheme called Plasback – on farm collection of agricultural plastic wastes such as baleage wrap and silage sheets, polypropylene bags and HDPE Drums. The education campaign includes a helpful and instructional brochure for famers showing them how to recycle each type of waste stream which will be mailed to farmers in Canterbury as well as radio and press advertising and is part of the Plasback Product Stewardship Scheme.
 Farm feed wrapped in Baleage This new campaign not only educates farmers on who can take their waste but how to handle it while it is on the farm such as the importance of triple rinsing HDPE drums and not including balenet or twine in the balewrap collection bins. Plasback also offers a recovery programme for the return of 100 and 200L containers for reuse.
The Plasback Product Stewardship scheme for recycling farm plastics will go a long way to helping to clean up Canterbury’s countryside, reduce hazardous toxins and chemicals from the soil (from burying the plastic) and the air (from burning), reducing waste to landfill and recycling the approx. 4000 tonnes of LLDPE (Linear Low Density Polyethylene) used as crop packaging on New Zealand farms each year. The recycled plastic will be turned in pellets that can be reused as new resin stock for plastic production.
For more information on the Plasback Education Campaign visit www.plasback.co.nz.
Tags: baleage wrap, canterbury, farm, HDPE, landfill, LLDPE, Plasback, plastics, radio, SIFT, Sustainable Initiatives Fund Trust, waste
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Sunday, March 7th, 2010 by Admin
 Source: Flickr Ed's Photostream 11 Butterfly The Sustainable Initiatives Fund Trust is a catalyst for change. We know (roughly) how much waste is generated, how much goes to landfill, what the negative environmental impacts are of that waste (leachate, toxins, global warming from methane emissions etc) and the amount of work and cultural behaviour change that is required to reduce how much waste is generated and sometimes that can be rather overwhelming and depressing. But, everyday we are reminded of those individuals, businesses and community groups who are doing good work and we are uplifted everyday by those we are helping to make the numbers better and improve the health of our environment – one step at a time, one day at a time.
Sometimes it can take a few years from the start of the relationship to the final outcome of the project. And that final outcome may just be the first step in many steps to creating a sustainable and commercially viable process that can help to significantly reduce the amount of waste that goes to Canterbury’s landfills.
It is about having a long term goal for our future – a sustainable Canterbury future where any waste generated is reused, recovered or recycled on shore first and where landfill and sending it offshore is the last resort (for all waste streams). But it will take time, patience, innovative ideas, advancement in technology, sound investment, collaboration (public and private partnerships), commitment, affecting cultural behaviour change, walking the talk, leading and being the catalyst for change. That is what SIFT is about – being a positive force for good as a social lender.
We have profiled a few businesses that are leading in waste management on our blog in the past and you can see some of the good and impactful work that we have done here. We have a number of super exciting projects on the go at the moment that will make a difference to Canterbury’s waste and will let you all know in due course about what they are and what good they will do.
If you are looking for funding for a project that will reduce the amount of waste going to Canterbury’s landfill or have a new idea that we could help with you can apply here.
You can check out our Flickr photos here too.
And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Tags: business, canterbury, community, consumption, diverting waste from landfill, environment, environmental sustainability, funding, landfill, public private partnerships, recycle, recycling, SIFT, sustainable, sustainable future, waste
Posted in SIFT, SIFT Projects, Sustainability in Action, Waste Management | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 by Admin
Just before Christmas we chose the winners of our e-waste competition. For the most sustainable/commercial category the winner is Alan Leifting from Christchurch. His idea was to modify cell phone battery chargers so they can be used as DC power supplies for other electronic products.
 SIFT CEO Linda Norris with e-waste competition winner Alan Leifting. And the winner of the most artistic/creative category was Jo Wynne who won our artistic/creative category for our last competition. Jo entered two really cool 3D pieces of art made from old electronic equipment. Our favourite is the one on she is holding. Love the copper elements mixed with black and silver and hanging down on wire.
 SIFT CEO Linda Norris with e-waste competition winner Jo Wynne.  Jo Wynne's e-waste art Both winners received a 2008 iPod Nano which they were super pleased with. A nice end to the year.
Tags: art, Christmas, commercial, competition, creative, e-waste, sustainable, winners
Posted in SIFT, SIFT Projects, Waste Management | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009 by Admin
 Source: Flickr frank-chimero The 21st century is going to be about radical change. A radical change to the way humans live. In order to create this change for a better and healthier earth we need ideas, motivation and action (and funds). SIFT can help those individuals in Canterbury who have the ideas* (that need to be proven or are ready to be implemented) that will create a life with less waste and more sustainable living. We can also help with the motivation and the action!
Christmas is a good time to slow down and take the time to just be quiet and let the brain have a rest. But, this is also normally when the good ideas are generated. So, if you start 2010 with an idea that you think might make difference to Canterbury’s waste then don’t hesitate to apply to SIFT.
As No Impact Man recently said we have to choose whether we we want to be people who will at least try to create a better world.
*Eligibility criteria applies
Tags: canterbury, change, life, No Impact Man, SIFT, waste
Posted in SIFT, SIFT Projects, Sustainability in Action | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 by Admin
As you may remember the first competition we held was on what to do with un-recyclable styrofoam meat and vegetable trays (all 25 million that go to landfill in Christchurch). We had a stash of trays left over and our new temp Ally has used them, quite cleverly, as a desktop sorter and it looks great.
 Image - copyright SIFT
Don’t forget to check out our e-waste competition which is still open. We are looking for great ideas on how to reduce e-waste. You can enter here.
Tags: competition, desk tidy, ewaste, recycle, SIFT, styrofoam trays
Posted in SIFT Projects, Sustainability in Action, Waste Management | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 by Admin
 Monday’s GreenBiz PlainsFM podcast is now online here. Linda Norris talks to Fiona Edwards from Kinley Education about Recyclopaedia and resusing waste for education.
Tags: environmental sustainability, Green Business, Kinley Education, linda norris, Plains FM, Recyclopaedia, SIFT
Posted in News on Sustainability, SIFT Projects | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 by Admin
 Solray Energy Algae to Bio-crude oil plant Last Friday we had the pleasure of attending the official opening of the Solray Energy Algae to Bio-Crude Oil plant at the Bromley Waste Water Treatment plant. It was a lovely warm spring day with not much of a smell, thankfully.
SIFT funded the early stage proof of concept mini trials at the Bromley Sewage Treatment plant (run by CCC) over the past three years plus the business case for algae and financial due diligence.
It was a great turn out with lots of cameras, all stakeholders, local iwi Ngai Tahu and local Councillors as well as the Hon. Gerry Brownlee (who is the Minister for Economic Development and the Minster for Energy and Resources), who officially opened the plant.
 Solray Energy's Chris Bathurst with SIFT Board Member Prof. Emeritus Arthur Williamson Chris Bathurst, the brains behind the project, said that it has taken 9 years to get to where they are today. They have successfully made crude oil from algae grown at the ponds (and started a lawn mower for Hon. Gerry Brownlee to use to prove it, see below for photo).
This project is a great example of public-private partnership in action with Solray Energy, NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research) and the Christchurch City Council working together to make the project a success. Algae to biofuels at this scale is apparently the first in the world. The project uses NIWA’s 5ha demonstration high rate algae pond that gets CO2 pumped into it, which gets trapped and encourages algae to grow. The algae is constantly mixed so it grows in colonies and is then pumped across the road to Solray where it is heated to above 300 degrees celsius in a super critical water reactor (SCWR), which mimics the natural process of turning it into crude oil (very similified explanation!). To remove the algae from the bio-crude oil they use a solvent which is then recycled and the algae residue is used as fertiliser. The bio-crude oil is then separated into petrol (20%), diesel (45%) and bitumen (20%) plus a few others. The whole lifecycle is all on one site making it easier to manage and monitor.
The super critical water reactor (SCWR) is very innovative and inventive. It was designed and built in New Zealand by Solray Energy, which means NZ can reap the benefits of the technology. As well as providing a possible new way to make fuel (instead of using fossil fuels – Hon. Gerry Brownlee stated NZ uses 183,000 barrels of oil equivalent a year) this technology could also allow for small scale carbon capture and localised use of the technology. It is also a cheap and simple way to harvest the algae. NIWA Chief Executive John Morgan happily presented two vials (one of green water algae and the other bio-crude oil) to Hon. Gerry Brownlee to give to New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key.
 Algae and Bio-crude oil vials for PM John Key  Hon. Gerry Browlee with the lawnmower & NIWA's John Morgan After getting the lawn mower to start for the cameras and Hon. Gerry Brownlee to mow some scrub on the banks of the pond the opening was formally closed by a karakia from an iwi representative from Ngai Tahu.
You can find more information about our involvement in the project here.
 Bio-crude oil and fuel  Hon. Gerry Brownlee being presented the vials by NIWA's John Morgan  Solray Energy Algae to Bio-crude oil plant
Tags: algae, bio-crude oil, bitumen, CCC, climate change, community, diesel, diverting waste from landfill, environmental sustainability, fuel, petrol, reuse, sewage, Solray Energy, Waste Management, waste water
Posted in Events, SIFT Projects, Sustainability in Action, Waste Management | 3 Comments »
Monday, November 23rd, 2009 by Admin
We have decided to extend the e-waste competition so it closes the week before Christmas. This gives you another month to get your entries in.
We would love to see some new ideas on how we can reduce our e-waste going to landfill and a great bit of e-waste art for our Green Boardroom and don’t forget we have two iPod Nanos up for grabs. You can enter here.
Tags: competition, e-waste, iPOD nano, SIFT
Posted in SIFT Projects | No Comments »
Monday, November 23rd, 2009 by Admin
Crop packaging manufacturer Agpac is leading the way on a product stewardship scheme that recycles the very crop packaging they manufacturer. You can read more about them here on an old blog post. Baleage wrap is used to wrap bales of hay and other grasses and instead of farmers burning or burying the plastic or leaving it to blow around the farm they can now put it in a handy Agpac collection bin (which also decreases the risk of contamination) and it is then recycled.
Agpac recently opened a new baler with the help of Minister for the Environment Hon. Dr. Nick Smith who is quoted as saying “These initiatives are part of the future for New Zealand’s most important industry. Companies are expected to take responsibility for the full life of their products not just manufacture and sales. This includes removing waste at the end of the product’s life-cycle. Agpac is taking a lead in developing this broader view.”
He also went on to say “New Zealand’s agriculture exports are coming under increasing scrutiny regarding their sustainabiltiy and environmental impact. Currently 10 to 20 percent of agriculture plastics are being recycled and we need to increase this to 100%”.
This new baler has the ability to be transported across the South Island where it can bale up used plastic baleage wrap and sileage pit covers at the farm making it easier for farmers to be apart of the scheme. Agpac’s Chris Hartshorne states that “Product Stewardship is a partnership that includes us as the distributor, our customers, the recycling industry and the reprocessors who create new products from the recycled materials.” This is exactly where all businesses and industries need to be moving to in order to create a sustainable future for New Zealand and its products.
And as Mastagard’s Sebastian Stapleton said in the press release for the new baler farmers need to start looking at where their old products are being sent to for recycling – “There is significant risk that waste plastic shipped to Asia will be processed in environmentally reckless and inhumane conditions”.
As well as a new baler Agpac have recently entered into a new agreement with plastics recycler Mastagard who will recycled the used baleage wrap here in Christchurch. Mastagard recently opened a $5 million wash and plastics recycling plant in Sockburn, which you can read about here. They will also be able to take the agrichemicals plastic containers.
All Agpac and Mastergard need now is for more farmers to be apart of the scheme.
 The Hon. Dr. Nick Smith with new Agpac baler
Tags: agpac, agrichemicals, baleage wrap, diverting waste from landfill, Mastagard, plastic, plastic wrap, producer responsibility, product stewardship, recycle, recycling, recycling projects, SIFT, sileage, waste
Posted in Events, SIFT Projects, Waste Management | No Comments »
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