Comspec have a flash new website with a great video on the opening of the plant. You can read more about how the Sustainable Initiatives Fund helped Comspec here with finanical assitance in the form of a loan or check out their video here.
SIFT » Sift BlogPosts Tagged ‘SIFT’Comspec’s New WebsiteTuesday, July 20th, 2010 by AdminSIFT’s Friday FavouritesFriday, July 16th, 2010 by Admin Bicycles for Recycling at Resource Recycling (ChCh) These weeks are flying by – soon we will be talking about how to have a waste free Christmas and summer holiday and feeling the heat rather than the cold! But, in the meantime here are some cheery mid-Winter links for your Friday.
Have a Waste Free Weekend. Friday FavouritesFriday, July 9th, 2010 by Admin Levis Denim Insulation Source: Cool Hunting Here is the round up of favourite/interesting links we have found this week:
Have a lovely waste free weekend. Friday FavouritesFriday, July 2nd, 2010 by Admin Source: Flickr promqu33n photostream Phew! What a week! Project meetings, strategic planning, new enquiries…All go! But as always we still kept a look out for the waste and sustainability links that could be interesting for our blog readers. Here are this week’s Friday Favourites:
And if you haven’t already checked it out visit Waveney Warth and Matthew Luxon’s new Rubbish Free website for some great tips and resources. Have a lovely Waste Free Weekend (WFW)! Friday FavouritesFriday, June 25th, 2010 by Admin
 Source: Twig & Thistle Sárah Goldschadt Garden Flags Reusing egg cartons SIFT has had a big week this week. I attended the Philanthropy NZ Regional Funders Forum on Tuesday and learnt about how to create a learning organisation from Fiona Ellis, who is the ex-Director of the Northern Rock Foundation in the UK, and what it means to be a social lender from Laura Benedict, a social lending practioner from the US. Laura is in New Zealand at the moment to write a paper on social lending in New Zealand as part of the Ian Axford (New Zealand) Public Policy Fellowship and is the head of the commercial lending department of Self Help, the US’s largest non-profit community development financial institution. Lots of great and useful information from both speakers that I am still digesting. And yesterday we had our yearly SIFT Strategic Planning Afternoon. We reviewed why we are here, what we want SIFT to be and do, the values, vision, mission and critical outcomes for the next year. One of those is to continue to grow SIFT as a learning organisation specifically to find waste minimisation/avoidance solutions. We are ready for a New Year full of new projects and new ways of operating. But for today here are the favourite links from around the world and locally:
Have a great waste free weekend. Practical Action – Visit the Super Shed or your local ReSell ShedThursday, June 17th, 2010 by AdminIt seems to be a bit of a mantra but to reduce your waste you need to reduce your consumption. And then if do need to buy something see if you can get it vintage or second hand. Today we visited the Super Shed in Pages Rd (Christchurch) to see what they had to offer (and also to do a bit of vintage foraging). If you can’t make it to Christchurch see if your local District Council or community group runs a Re-Sell shed (or check out TradeMe and other second hand stores for bargains). The Super Shed is super full of a mix of homewares, furniture, electronics, old suitcases, crockery, cutlery, books, plastic (lots of plastic), vacuum hoses and heads, bags, beds, bed heads, tools, garden ware (lots of great outside seating for the summer), personal entertainment and lighting. You do really have to pick through it to find the gems. I picked up a retro/industrial light shade (very utilitarian) for only $5 and I know others have picked up things like fake gilded mirrors, egg cups, glass jars, frames (that were repainted) and even placemats (the Super Shed has three bins just for placemats). Outside you can also find toilets, sinks, umbrellas and lots of plastic pots for gardening. As we were leaving the next customer was buying an old style push mower that only had a bit of rust on it and someone else had a bag of Retro Christmas decorations. If you are willing to pick through some of the dross there are definitely bargains to be had. With some creativity you can even update old furniture just with new paint and handles. Worth a look before you buy new. And to think that all that is contained within the Super Shed was “thrown out” by someone. The items are pulled out of the waste to landfill stream and sold on to people in the community for a new life. We wonder where people thought their goods would go or if they even thought about it! You can read more about the Super Shed here. Here are a few photos from the visit:
Did you miss out on funding from the WMF?Wednesday, June 16th, 2010 by Admin Source: Flickr speckled_beckle's photostream Yesterday, most of the 164 applications for funding for waste project(s) from the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Minimisation Fund would have received a letter telling them their application has been turned down. Congratulations to the 29 who did make it through to the next stage – we are interested to see what these projects are. If this was you and your project is based in Canterbury have you thought about approaching the Sustainable Initiatives Fund for assistance? The purpose of the Waste Minimisation Fund is not too dissimilar to the objectives of the Sustainable Initiatives Fund Trust. The WMF was developed to boost New Zealand’s performance in waste minimisation through educational, promotional, technological or infrastructure projects. The objectives of the Sustainable Initiatitives Fund Trust are about reducing or avoiding waste that goes specifically to Canterbury’s landfills through new technology/process or recovering new waste streams or by developing new products or technologies out of recovered materials. Other sub-objectives include creating useful sustainable educational applications from the products or technologies that are developed and/or creating sustainable energy products out of waste and/or creating sustainable job opportunties and contributing positively to Canterbury’s economy. The Sustainable Initiatives Fund Trust is apart of a new generation of social lenders with the primary motivation of reducing negative environmental impacts – decreasing waste to landfill. We have a number of projects on the go at the moment that are a mix of grants, loans and equity investments and cover a range of waste streams and issues. You can check out more of our past projects here. We had a board meeting yesterday and again the board reiterated that projects need to show their reduction in environmental impact first and foremost. We are super keen to see the waste reduction numbers for the waste stream your project deals with. If you have an idea that requires financial assistance we may be able to help. Call myself (Olivia Day, General Manager) to discuss if you are eligible and if we can help. Our number is 03 3655655. Friday favouritesFriday, June 11th, 2010 by Admin
 We visited the CCC2 Materials Recovery Facility on Tuesday - here's a sneek peek. More to come. Here is this week’s round up of what of the waste, sustainability goodies we have come across:
Hope you have a low impact weekend! Green Collar Job Post – Maxine WoodhouseTuesday, June 1st, 2010 by Admin
 Waitaki Resource Co-ordinator Maxine Woodhouse Maxine Woodhouse, Waitaki Resource Exchange’s Co-ordinator is our Green Collar Job interviewee this week. We met Maxine at the WasteMinz workshops in April and although Waitaki is just outside of the Canterbury region we still thought what she does everyday would be of interest to our blog readers. Three days a week Maxine works with businesses, not-for-profits and schools looking at waste as a resource with the aim to divert that waste from their local landfill and to show people how to utilise waste as a resource within the community. She has also assisted in the implementation of recycling in local workplaces. Maxine says “Our goal is to create lasting networks between those with excess resources & those seeking them, thus extending the life of usable materials & keeping them out of the landfill”. When not focussed on waste Maxine is either in her garden or volunteering in other initiatives in the community such as local cycle groups and the Alternative Transport project which is run in conjunction with Sport Waitaki, the Rural PHO (Primary Health Organisation) and the local Transition Town movement. Maxine also writes a fortnightly column in the local Waitaki paper which is read by people from all walks of life in the community. 1. What do you do to live more sustainably (with a low impact) in your life? 2. How do you live more sustainably at work? 3. What do you think is the biggest environmental issue we need to deal with in Christchurch/New Zealand? 4. What makes you smile? 5. What is your biggest pet peeve? 6. What is your favorite colour and why? 7. Do you have a favorite place in the world? Describe why? 8. What’s your connection to SIFT? 10. What do you want to leave behind? 11. What do you think the future will bring? 12. Who is someone you really admire and why? 14. What is your favorite breakfast? 15. What is the best piece of advice you can give us? Green Collar Job Q&A – Darren PattersonWednesday, May 26th, 2010 by Admin
 Darren Patterson This week’s Green Collar Job Q&A is with Darren Patterson. SIFT caught up with Darren at last month’s WasteMinz Workshops and thought he would be great Green Collar Job Q&A candidate as he spends his days helping others to reduce their impact on the environment and has a wealth of experience in waste and environmental sustainability. Based in Christchurch Darren is a consultant specialising in helping businesses to operate sustainably. Darren aims to work with each client to seek pragmatic solutions that will work for both their business and the environment. You can see more of what he does at www.pattersonenvironmental.co.nz or his blog here. To make contact email him on
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or even speak to him one on one by phoning 021 440832. You can also follow him on twitter here, or Facebook here, or LinkedIn here. 1. What do you do to live more sustainably (with a low impact) in your life? I walk or ride to work, compost at home, recycle, and reuse what I can. We have a solar hot water system and energy and water efficient appliances and monitor our energy use with a Centometer. 2. How do you live more sustainably at work? Providing the right advice to businesses helps them reduce their impact on the environment and their liabilities. It can also reduce their operating costs. 3. What do you think is the biggest environmental issue we need to deal with in Christchurch/New Zealand? The biggest global environmental issue would be climate change but more locally the poor management of waste and hazardous substances impacts directly on the water we drink and the air we breath. 4. What makes you smile? My children. 5. What is your biggest pet peeve? Apathy 6. What is your favourite colour and why? The colour blue of the sky at sunrise and sunset. Reminds me of my travels. 7. Do you have a favourite place in the world? Describe why? To live: Christchurch – sorry to the rest of the world buts its just right for me. 8. What’s your connection to Sift? I’ve worked with Sift during my time at Environment Canterbury. 9. Do you remember your favourite teacher and why they were your favourite? Miss Camsey: she was the deputy head of my junior school and had a very progressive approach to teaching 10 year olds. 10. What do you want to leave behind? Two successful sons that live in a world that’s better than the one that I entered. 11. What do you think the future will bring? Opportunities that we don’t yet know. 12. Who is someone you really admire and why? John Campbell; I love his enthusiasm and his willingness to ask the questions that get him to the nub of the issue. 13. What is happening outside your window right now? Leaves are falling off the tree and a bird is hunting through them for food. 14. What is your favourite breakfast? Pancakes 15. What is the best piece of advice you can give us? Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. – Emerson |
   find out more
|
Copyright © 2010 SIFT | Sitemap