Marketing and environmental sustainability merge

NEWS RELEASE
Thursday, 18 October 2007

Marketing and environmental sustainability merge in new age of public recycling

Following a successful pilot scheme at Auckland’s Botany Town Centre a New Zealand advertising business has developed an answer to sustainable public space recycling.

With the development of the AdTrash recycling station New Zealanders will be able to easily dispose of plastics, glass and aluminium when out and about in public.

Executive Director of AdTrash, Wilson Matimba, says: “Many New Zealanders have recently adopted sustainable waste management practices at home and work; but there are no options to do the right thing when you’re walking down your city street and in most other public spaces.

“AdTrash makes it easy for land managers to provide a sustainable recycling solution that not only looks impressive, but as our trial scheme demonstrated, actually increases the amount of litter collected.

“Our vision is for city councils and private property owners to benefit from the sale of advertising space on the bins, promoting products and services, tourism or community based messages. This provides them with an additional revenue stream – a great option for councils, rather than passing the buck to ratepayers.

“If our stations are installed nationwide, tourists to New Zealand will leave with a lighter footprint and the knowledge that as a nation we are serious about protecting our natural environment,” he says.

AdTrash is currently manufacturing 2,000 recycling stations which will be installed onto both public and private land in town centres, tourist sites, shopping malls, service stations and schools.

The stations are made from 100% recycled material and the advertising boards are edgelit with low energy LED lights powered from solar panels. They collect both comingled recyclables (aluminium cans, plastic and glass), and general waste.

A 2007 OECD report [1] states that New Zealand continues to face waste management challenges. The report states that New Zealand is one of only four countries that continue to show an increase in municipal waste generation as economic activity grows. The report suggests there is little sign of improvement.

In the latest Government Budget announcement, $4.5 million in funding was allocated to the Ministry for Environment’s (MfE) recycling in public places initiative to be implemented through local councils.

“It’s a critical issue when New Zealand depends so much on the clean green image. Implementing recycling in public places is vital and we commend the MfE initiative,” says Mr Matimba.

The OECD report adds however that in order for the initiative to be successful it needs to have a consistent approach and branding. Mr Matimba says nationally the culture of recycling needs to be ingrained in our collective psyche.

“With New Zealanders putting three million tonnes of rubbish into landfill every year, not to mention council rates increases, solutions need to address the environmental need but also have to be financially sustainable.”

“The AdTrash concept for local government is to shift the burden away from ratepayers into the commercial market while addressing the important issue of recycling thereby reducing what ends up in landfill.”

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