Bacon, eggs and recycling at tradie breakfast

19 Sept, 2022

ITM Mangawhai and Sustainable Kaipara (SK) teamed up recently to host an early morning breakfast for tradies on September 1, and while munching sausages, eggs and bacon [photo 1] the crowd of over 80 [photo 2] heard about different ideas to tackle the ongoing issue of construction waste.

SK director Sarah Bray, seen here with ITM’s Rob Cooke [photo 3] talked about the feasibility study the organisation is running to tackle the construction industry waste issue, and Marsden Metals’ Janine Abernethy [photo 4] explained their new construction waste system ‘Tradie Bags’, trademarked in Australia and NZ.

“These large bags allow for source separation of building materials which are then collected for recycling. They also allow customers to know exactly the weight of the material being saved from landfill which is particularly useful for builders engaging in the NZ Green Building Council Home Star rating system,” she says.

"The total cost is set at 35c per kg for all recyclables collected through this system. In general waste, bins cost customers between 45c and 55c per kg, and the landfill fill levy is set to rise further. Keeping your leftover materials out of landfill makes environmental and economic sense.”

– REPORTING JULIA WADE / PHOTOS SUPPLIED