Plastic Free July is upon us and Hastings District Council is hosting a number of events throughout the month to help people do their part to reduce their plastic use.

Plastic Free July is a worldwide movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution – it encourages participants to take the challenge and find ways to reduce their plastic consumption.

The Hastings District Council waste minimisation team is running three events, as well as encouraging people to try at least one thing: grab their favourite takeaway drink in their own cup, or try the new Again Again reusable coffee cup found at participating cafes.

On July 13, Council is hosting ‘The Rubbish Trip’ – a 90-minute talk where participants will hear from Hannah and Liam, two zero waste nomads, who have been living without a rubbish bin since 2015.

Here, they will offer practical tips and advice on how to reduce waste. Catch them at Spaceship, 118 Karamu Rd North, Hastings on Tuesday, July 13, starting from 7pm.

Sam Gibbons and Cloe Vining from council’s waste minimisation team will be holding a couple of hands-on sessions on how to reduce plastic waste at home.

Attendees will make their own beeswax wraps and homemade cleaning products, and these workshops will be taking place on Wednesday, July 21, 5.30pm to 6.30pm at the Hastings Baptist Church, 300 Karamu Rd South, Hastings, and on Wednesday July 28, 5:30pm to 6:30pm at Havelock Function Centre, 30 Te Mata Road, Havelock North.

“We are too focused on thinking recycling is the best thing we can do, but it still takes time, money and resources to transport and reprocess recycling,” Cloe said.

“We need to be thinking more about reducing and reusing what we have. If you’re not sure where to start this July we recommend collecting up your single-use plastic over a couple of weeks. Then you can really start to see the impact you can have and where to focus your energy on reducing.”

The waste minimisation team has also produced a booklet (available at the libraries and on the Council website) which guides residents through Council rubbish and recycling services and how they can reduce their waste using the waste hierarchy.

The Again Again cup scheme has also been officially launched this month, with 12 Hastings cafes stocking the food grade stainless steel cups. Customers pay a $3 deposit to borrow a cup, which can be returned for a refund at any participating store throughout New Zealand.

When a customer brings the cup to a café they can choose to swap it out for a clean one at no cost or return it for their $3. People can borrow more than one cup and return multiple cups at one time when they remember.

Sam said that as an incentive for cafes to take part in the scheme, council is currently offering to subsidise those that sign up by helping out with half of an initial trial cost.

In Hastings, the cafes taking part are: Bay Espresso (Karamu Rd, Middle Rd, and Ellison Rd), Cascara, Colab Café, Cupple, Hawthorne Coffee Roastery & Espresso Bar, Opera Kitchen, Café at Westermans, Te Mata Figs Café, Workroom and Bom Dia.

“With the recent announcement from the Ministry for the Environment that New Zealand is phasing out some single-use plastics, and the government will be reviewing single-use cups, specifically coffee cups, now is the time to work with cafes and make the switch,” Sam said.

To find out more about Plastic Free July, and take the pledge visit plasticfreejuly.org.

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