Capturing Mangawhai's plastic-free beauty

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BY JULIA WADE


Inspired by a love for Mangawhai and the oceans ongoing plight with plastic, local coffee connoisseurs and traders recently came up with a unique way to add further awareness to the Plastic-free July movement. 

Brewed As Collective (BAC) owners/operators, Gareth and Anna Wilson, arranged a mobile phone-only photography competition which closed on July 31, aimed at capturing the individual beauty and many pleasures of Mangawhai as well as highlighting the importance of eliminating the use of single-use plastics. Gareth says he and Anna were ‘inspired to use Plastic Free July as an opportunity to showcase this beautiful town’.

“In a recent trip to the Philippines we saw first-hand the detrimental effect of single use plastic, so much that they have had to close beaches to the public, in Thailand too,” he says. “As a cafe owner, we are always pushing to get rid of single use plastics such as the paper cups, and have been hugely supported by Plastic Free Mangawhai and all the great work they’ve done, and the good folk at UYOC.nz (Use Your Own Cup).”

The public were able to vote for their favourite image after participants posted images online with the image receiving the most ‘likes’ declared as winner. The prize photo captured the beauty of a sunrise over Mangawhai surf beach and will be displayed on BAC’s wall. The winner, known only as 'Valley Views Mangawhai’ also won a Plastic-free Mangawhai branded KeepCup, a coffee training session with Gareth and one month’s worth of beverages from the cafe. 
BAC has been trading from the courtyard of Wood Street Freehouse since April, providing specialty coffees, organic teas and healthy treats to visitors and locals alike. Former owners of a Newmarket cafe the couple were invited by Freehouse’s owner to open a ‘pop-up cafe’ over the summer ‘to do what we did down there up here’ and were so charmed by the ‘legendary’ Magical Mangawhai Heads, they ‘saw no other option but to stay and call it home’ Gareth says. 

“We care about people’s health as much as we do our beautiful planet we live on,” Gareth says. “Besides doing our best to ensure our customers have a unique coffee experience and take every effort to use only the best ingredients we can get our hands on, we strive to make our business sustainable and have a positive impact on our environment, the community and economy.”

Taking the step to break the habit of using single-use cups appears to be the hard part of transitioning to a ‘keepcup’ Gareth says although once the switch is made, consumers say they wouldn't have it any other way.

“In an ideal world I would love to only serve our beverages in our beautiful glassware or any 'bring your own cup' and we are always happy to clean your cup if it lives in your car; mine does,” he says. “A great little cafe in Sydney has managed to remove all their takeaway cups, which is a fantastic result, meaning it can be done. It is not only better for the environment, but the beverages taste better and stay hotter for longer!” 

 To view all photos visit Brewed As Collective’s Facebook page.

Collecting the most likes, the winning photo shows a spectacular sunrise over Surf Beach, by a photographer only known as 'Valley Views Mangawhai’. 

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