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Posts Tagged ‘Waste Management’
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 by Admin
This week’s Green Collar Job Q&A is with Timaru District Council’s Senior Waste Management Officer Ruth Clarke. Ruth manages the waste contract for the Timaru District. It is a comprehensive contract covering kerbside collection, transfer station management, landfill, green waste processing and recycling processing. Ruth plans for waste minimisation activity and carries out all the administrative work associated with council. She also runs the waste exchange for Timaru and Waimate Districts.
Ruth says that her list of things to do is long and her days too short, but finds her job challenging, interesting and worthwhile.
1. What do you do to live more sustainably (with a low impact) in your life?
We built an ecohouse of mudbricks with solar water heating, solar power, composting toilet with relatively small footprint. Most labour done by ourselves with help from 157 wwoofers and counting! (see www.earthwoodwaimate.blogspot.com)
2. How do you live more sustainably at work?
We built the eco-house in Waimate and then I got the job in Timaru, so it is 100km commute but I carpool with two others. I walk to any jobs nearby or get my co-workers to pick up stuff I need if they are out and about. I duplex my printing.
3. What do you think is the biggest environmental issue we need to deal with in Canterbury/New Zealand?
Apathy-I just wonder if we are going to make the changes needed in time to make the difference for our children.
4. What makes you smile?
My girls
5. What is your biggest pet peeve?
People idling ( it doesn’t happen so much here but very common in Japan. I once crossed the lane and turned my neighbour’s car off after it had been idling for 10 minutes. Another time friends and I turned off the key of a car just sitting idling in the street with nobody about- then skedaddled!
6. What is your favourite colour and why?
Orange/russet because I like autumn, especially maples in Japan.
7. Do you have a favourite place in the world?
Kyoto-I lived there for 4 years, the old places are so otherworldly, historic and Asian.
8. What’s your connection to Sift?
Collaborating on a project.
9. Do you remember your favourite teacher and why they were your favourite?
My German teacher, strict and scary, but somehow German was my favourite subject.
10. What do you want to leave behind?
Land and the adobe house to secure a living/lifestyle for the girls; the recognition that I have worked for a better end.
11. What do you think the future will bring?
Peak Oil, stronger communities, better use of technology, maybe a rude awakening…
12. Who is someone you really admire and why?
I have a friend who left a business because she didn’t agree with the way they were heading ( more corporate) and started a business to pursue her own idealogy of business practice. I admire that she had the conviction to act on her beliefs.
13. What is happening outside your window right now?
The border collie is curled up, the steers are still eating (the one called “Stu” is getting fatter!). The pears and apple trees are loaded-bottling fruit on the agenda this weekend.
14. What is your favourite breakfast?
Bacon and eggs.
15. What is the best piece of advice you can give us?
Take one small step at a time –it is a journey.
Tags: Green Collar Job, sustainable living, Timaru District Council, waste, Waste Management, woofers
Posted in Green Collar Jobs Q&A, Sustainability in Action, Waste Management | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 by Admin
 SIFT CEO Linda Norris with her two boys James (R) and William (Bottom) in the Rangiora Cub Scouts Caravan Due to a few technical difficulties with our blog we are reposting SIFT CEO Linda Norris’ Green Collar Jobs Q&A.We thought it was about time to profile SIFT CEO Linda Norris in our Green Collar Jobs Blog post. Linda has been the CEO of the Sustainable Initiatives Fund Trust for about three years and is a passionate advocate for sustainable living. She is always looking for innovative and creative ways for SIFT to have a positive impact on the community and to ultimately reduce waste going to landfill. You can find more information about Linda here.
1. What do you do to live more sustainably (with low impact) in your life?
I live on a small farm in Loburn, North Canterbury, where we produce our own lamb and beef, as organic as it can be, and some of our own veges. We compost everything we can through EM Bokashi, and even our new home proudly displays a number of great features from recycled materials like flooring, doors, and of course furniture from the Christchurch Supershed – all good to go with a little TLC. We buy quality goods that last and use local businesses for services, employ local people, and we know most of our neighbours. I drive a low carbon emission diesel vehicle. We help out in our community by doing rubbish clean ups and with environmental projects at the local school. We recenlty picked up a massive 55kg of well concealed waste dumped in our hedgrows in one weekend, about 80% of it was recycled! I have taken a group of four 8/9 year olds to talk on community radio station Plains FM “Green Biz” about their fun waste diversion project through TradeMe.
2. How do you live more sustainably at work?
Our office fitout used almost entirely recycled furniture and we use web-based business tools to minimise cost and maximise reach. We minimise paper usage, reuse what we can, and travel with good IT systems, and any one of us can work from home if need be, reducing emissions. We use suppliers that are carbon neutral as far as possible e.g. Digiweb and Green Cabs, and we use video conferencing instead of travelling out of town.
3. What do you think is the biggest environmental issue we need to deal with in Christchurch/New Zealand?
Maximise our Earth’s resources. We can all do our bit to help the environment. It’s just an excuse to say you are too small to do something.
4. What makes you smile?
My children! I have 3 boys, two at primary school aged 10 and 8, plus one aged 41 (sorry Dean!)
5. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Unncessary waste: Cheap and nasty “stuff” being sold in NZ that we all know will end up in our landfills. Buy quality that will last and buy a product that can be up-recycled or reused.
6. What is your favourite colour and why?
Forever Green of course! A sort of clear and sparkly green. I’ve always loved green – it reminds me of our Earth and is very grounding and so creative.
7. Do you have a favourite place in the workd? Describe why?
Ooh tough choice…La Paz in Bolivia, South America – it means Peace, or close to home Totaranui in the Abel Tasman National Park – great family holidays: walks, wildlife & water – we stay at the Dept of Conservation bach – we are soooo lucky, it’s such a special place.
8. What’s your connection to SIFT?
Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Initiatives Fund. I’m the chief waste minimiser!
9. Do you remember your favourite teacher and why they were your favourite?
Definitely Mr Calver at Maidstone Grammar School for Girls. He taught me maths at high school level and always used to have a saying “a tick if it’s right, cross if it’s wrong, and if in doubt cross it out!” He was very inspiring; I still love maths as do my children. Teachers are so important as they influence young minds. I went on to train as an auditor with Deloitte; I think that Mr Calvert may have influenced my career choice!
10. What do you want to leave behind?
A greener, more peaceful and prosperous world. A happy and content family.
11. What do you think the future will bring?
Different political boundaries will emerge; technology will enable different groups of people to help solve world problems; and creativity will leapfrog a real opportunity for innovation in science and the environment. Technology and creativity have to be inextricably linked.
12. Who is someone you really admire and why?
Duke of Wellington, the greatest soldier that every lived.
13. What is happending outside your window right now?
Beautiful night sky in Loburn, North Canterbury, it’s 1am!
14. What is your favourite breakfast?
Homemade meusli, freshly squeezed grapefruit juice (organic ofcourse), fruit, live yoghurt.
15. What is the best piece of advice you can give us?
Replicate SIFT into the North Island, so that the whole country can benefit from the “Canterbury waste model”. Keep the strong connection between business and community – nuture your people. It’s people that matter and will drive change.
Tags: community, consumption, diverting waste from landfill, Green Collar Jobs, linda norris, Loburn, SIFT, sustainable initiatives, waste, Waste Management
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Friday, December 11th, 2009 by Admin
Now is the perfect time to put the word out in your office for all unwanted and unused stationery to be brought back to the stationery cupboard. Imagine all those pens, pencils, notepads, paper clips and gluesticks floating about in desk drawers that aren’t being used. Once you have the stationery back you can work out what you no longer need to buy. This will save your organisation money and save resources used in making new stationery. And ulimately reduce the amount of waste from stationery because you didn’t need to buy more to add to the pile! Reduction in comsumption = reduction in waste.
 Pen chandelier from ecofriend.org
Tags: amnesty, consumption, diverting waste from landfill, environmental sustainability, money, notepads, pencils, pens, recycling, reduction, save, stationery, unwanted, waste, Waste Management
Posted in Sustainability in Action, Waste Management | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 by Admin
 Monday’s Green Biz podcast from PlainsFM is now online here. SIFT CEO Linda Norris and Plains FM host Ed Swift talk to Matt Fitzpatrick and Paul Walters from Southern Grain Spirits – Kaiapoi Distillery about green business.
Tags: community, Distillery, diverting waste from landfill, Green Biz, Kaiapoi, Plains FM, SIFT, waste, Waste Management
Posted in SIFT, Waste Management | 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 2nd, 2009 by Admin
 Source: Flickr: Rvibek Millions of computers, cell phones, cameras, televisions, iPods and other electronic devices are bought each year and the number is growing. When they are no longer wanted most end up in landfills with over 80,000 tonnes of electronic waste (“e-waste”) being sent to landfills annually.
E-waste contains toxic materials that can leach out of landfills causing environmental pollution and damage. Other materials such as steel and copper wiring can be recovered and be reused.
Because of the large amounts of hazardous e-waste going to landfill we decided to ask the community for new ideas on how we can reduce the large amount of hazardous e-waste that is ending up in New Zealand landfills (where it will sit for hundreds of years). Do you have any ideas?
The SIFT e-waste competition has two main categories:
- The most sustainable and commercially viable idea, or
- The most creative and artistic idea (we are looking for some e-waste art made out of personal
 Source: Flickr: CP entertainment equipment for our Green Boardroom).
Please fill in the form on the e-waste Competition page of our website and if you are entering the artistic/creative category please send the e-waste art to Unit 17, 212 Antigua Street, Christchurch.
The competition is open to all Cantabrians.
Competition closes Friday 20 November, 2009.
Prizes
The winners will receive an iPod Nano each and will be notified Wednesday 2 December, 2009 and listed on the SIFT website Friday 4 December, 2009.
More information and full terms and conditions can also be found on our website.
Tags: cameras, cell phones, community, computers, consumption, diverting waste from landfill, e-waste, hazardous waste, iPods, landfill, plastics, recycle, reduce, televisions, Waste Management
Posted in SIFT Projects, Sustainability in Action, Waste Management | No Comments »
Thursday, October 29th, 2009 by Admin
 Source: Flickr Simon Cox The practical waste reduction action for this week is to print two to a page and double sided (sounds like a hoedown!)…and only print when you need to. Printing two sheets to a page (which is still readable) instantly halves the amount of printing and then printing double sided will halve it again. If two to a page is too small stick with double sided and if you have a printer that can’t do this look to upgrade to one that can. The next step is to print on 100% recycled paper and reuse any paper printed on one side. At SIFT we are conscious about printing and paper use and only print when we really need to.
The Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry Annual Pulp, Paper and Production statistics state that in the year to March 31 2009 New Zealand consumed 945, 499 tonnes of paper which is 221kg per person.
In Christchurch alone we sent 53,337 tonnes (of paper and card) to Kate Valley Landfill in the year to June 2009.
Here is a lovely way to recycle paper we found while looking through Flickr. Haru’s Paper Celebration!s makes some lovely wreaths which you can check out here.
 Source: Flickr Haru's Paper Celebration!s
Tags: CCC, consumption, diverting waste from landfill, environmental sustainability, MAF, paper, recycle, reduce, waste, Waste Management
Posted in Sustainability in Action, Waste Management | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 by Admin
 Green algae On the radio this morning there was a great little story on the Algae to biofuels project over in Bromley, Christchurch. 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.
You can read more about the project here or listen to the Radio New Zealand National news story here.
Tags: algae, algae biofuel, biofuels, CCC, diverting waste from landfill, SIFT, sustainable initiatives, waste, Waste Management
Posted in SIFT Projects | No Comments »
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 by Admin
 wasteminz Here are Linda’s top 14 highlights (in no particular order) from last week’s WasteMinz conference held here in Christchurch. There were four days of workshops, site visits and networking – a must for anyone involved in the waste industry.
- Lisa Smith – The Thinker – ground breaking thinking
- Tyres – discussed the models and the realities of recycling tyres in New Zealand
- Louisa Palmer – the future of recycling and the bottle bank on her trade stand
- Sulo Talbot & SIFT’s basketball challenge at the Smart environmental recycling stand – prizes galore…business card holders, wine and even a cafe table and chair set up for grabs – well done to both who received a high score on Day 2 with 96 points in 45 seconds! Great conversations and lots of fun. Apparently it even generated a business idea, but shhh mum’s the word!
- FriendlyPak/Agpac – biodegradable products
- Presentation by Mark Inglis – innovation in R&D which is much needed in NZ, “in the last 100 years we have learnt more than in the past 20,000 years – what are we going to learn in the next 10 years?”, communication , connections and being proactive about what you need to do for the future. Mark also talked about how people need to become more socially responsible and businesses need to lead the way as change makers. “We need to be optimists as opposed to optimalists.”
- Christian Noble – debunking the waste to energy myth – experiences from Denmark so we can broaden our knowledge
- Presentation by Martyn Pinckard, Director of Operations from MfE
- E-Waste – Kumar Radharkrishnan, SIMS recycling services, APAC – what’s being recycled and is there a model for Canterbury? Can Canterbury lead the way for e-waste as well?
- Visit to Kate Valley Landfill – surprised the slick operation and cleanliness.
- Product Stewardship – A commercial study – turning nappies into compost
- The formal dinner at the Christchurch Airforce museum – just an awesome location…
- Sulo Talbot’s Worms on Wheels product – great idea
- Trade Commission of Denmark – forever helpful in connecting NZ and Denmark
Photos of the highlights will be up next week.
Tags: community, diverting waste from landfill, e-waste, environmental sustainability, Green Collar Jobs, linda norris, plastics, recycle, SIFT, Waste Management
Posted in Events | 1 Comment »
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