21 April, 2017

Community change-makers create free waste wise resource

Funding from Auckland Council has supported waste education community group Tamaki WRAP to create and launch New Zealand’s first Waste Wise Kete.

The Kete is a free resource packed with fun activities, waste facts and practical actions that can be used by families and children to minimise the waste they produce.

Tamaki WRAP’s Karen Clifford says the core vision was to have families create something that works for them.

“The idea was to create a resource for families and community groups to share and increase understanding of the simple steps to reducing waste. Hundreds of conversations had taken place to co-create a beautiful resource made by community for community.”

The games and activities in the book have been co-designed by children from the After School Enviro Kids Club in Tamaki.

Karen says that over 50 prototype booklets have been tested across four communities, resulting in a booklet that can be used at home, in the workplace, the community or school.

It includes a colouring-in waste hierarchy, word games and even a Waste Warrior certificate for those that have completed all the activities.

“Children are awesome natural waste champions and we want them to feel empowered to get their ideas out into the world and lead the change.”

In 2015, Auckland Council’s Waste Minimisation Innovation Fund (WMIF) awarded Tamaki WRAP a grant of $5,000 for the Kete project.

Cllr Penny Hulse, Chair of the Environment and Community Committee, says she is impressed with the project’s potential to become an effective resource, and the innovative and collaborative way it was designed.

“Tamaki WRAP is a group of passionate local women dedicated to spreading the waste minimisation message in their community. Involving children and families in the creation of the activities within the Kete helped to deliver a valuable tool to support waste reduction in the home,” she says.

The WMIF fund provides up to $500,000 a year to seed innovative waste solutions from businesses, iwi/Maori, education and community groups.

Since the first WMIF funding round in April 2013, about $2.2 million has been given to more than 220 projects.

Funded projects have ranged from surveys, pilots, and feasibility studies to workshops, education programmes and new equipment.

A PDF of the Waste Wise Kete can be downloaded fromhttp://www.tamakiwrap.org.nz/

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