Kāpiti Food Fair: Our Agenda And Action On Eliminating Waste From Landfill

The Kāpiti Food Fair team have been busy behind the scenes working on their waste minimisation activity ahead of this year’s event on Saturday December 4th.

“Our waste minimisation efforts started in 2019 and will stretch over a five-year period to eliminate all waste from landfill,” said Helene Judge, co-owner of the Fair. “In 2020 we achieved 80% with 49% being composted and 31% recycled. We always intended to refine and review our waste management approach by 2021, and this year we're working towards 85% diversion.”

As part of the Kāpiti Food Fair’s social and environmental agenda, the team choose to support the Kāpiti Rotary Charitable Trust, No 49 Squadron Air Cadets, Kāpiti Coast Hockey Club, the Kāpiti Kindness Trust and Work Ready Kāpiti by contracting their services to help run key logistics like parking, gate entry, the ATM and waste minimisation. The wonderful effort exerted by these amazing volunteers helps every step along the way.

“To make our waste minimisation efforts real, we contract the amazing Organic Wealth crew who set-up and run the on-site waste depot and report precisely to the Fair on our performance post Fair. They also fully train the No 49 Squadron Air Cadets to be super nice waste busters at each waste site to guide visitors on how to discard their waste into the correct bins to ease the sorting effort at the depot by the Organic Wealth crew. We are truly in awe of how they operate and love working with them so we can achieve our goal of eliminating waste from landfill,” said Jeanine van Kradenburg, co-owner of the Fair.

In addition to the usual waste minimisation activity, the Fair will also host a double site near the Zeal Zone where Creative Kāpiti will set-up an interactive art workshop for their Toharā Community Art Project, using waste streams from the on-site Organic Wealth waste depot.

“Organic Wealth is passionate about creating change around waste. Our partnership with Kāpiti Food Fair has fostered an ambitious goal of generating zero waste to landfill in the future,” shared James Micael from Organic Wealth. “This is being achieved by supporting vendors to use compostable packaging, as well as educating the general public around what can and cannot be recycled and composted. For us it is essential that we facilitate and boost young people who are leading the way and are caring for our planet, and we couldn't be happier to have youth from the 49 Squadron Air Cadets managing waste at recycling stations and passing on materials for artists and families to make cool art from at the Fair.”

“The Toharā Community Art Project will be highlighting the journey of the tohorā whale and some of our endangered species along the Kāpiti Coast – using recycled waste materials including rubbish that has washed up on Kāpiti Island,” shared Helene.

“This art installation is a super exciting addition to our mahi, helping us divert waste destined for landfill into the creation of an innovative artwork. This not only promotes the importance of reusing materials but awakens whanau to the effects that our waste has on our beautiful environment,” added James.

“We’re excited to see science, art and community come together to help develop this project, dedicated to the upcoming 30-year anniversary of the Kāpiti Marine Reserve,” says Creative Kāpiti Director, Jenna-Lea Philpott, who conceived the project idea after seeing plastic waste in the sand during a beach walk. “It’s fantastic that the Kāpiti Food Fair embraces waste minimisation as a core value and that they support art-making as a form of landfill diversion. With artistic direction from renowned environmental artist Hamish Macaulay, we will be holding additional workshops in schools and in the community, before installing the exhibition in the Creative Kāpiti Gallery inside Kiwibank Paraparaumu in December.”

“I'm thrilled to be utilising my skills as an artist who works with found materials,” said Hamish Macaulay. “I'm looking forward to sharing my passion for waste minimisation with others who are also committed to protecting our fragile marine environment. It's an exciting time to be partnering with Creative Kāpiti for these workshops. This gives us the opportunity to work with diverse groups from our community, coming together to create, educate and motivate through a series of workshops, culminating in the creation and exhibition of Tohorā.”

Book your tickets to join us on December 4th now and make sure to add Creative Kāpiti as one of your ’must-do’s on the day. Stop by, say hello and see how you can help us help our beautiful Kāpiti community: https://kapitifoodfair.co.nz/tickets

COVID info for Kāpiti Food Fair attendees: COVID Delta is not kind and does not discriminate. Our message to visitors, vendors, performing artists, volunteers, crew, suppliers, is to get vaccinated, for you, your whānau, your community.

If we want a Summer events programme to enjoy the end of 2021 and the start of 2022, vaccination is the only choice. The Fair is busy communicating this message as we work through revised AL2 criteria for unrestricted attendance at events. Anyone entering the Fair will need to scan in on our Covid QR code or sign our manual record. We are also asking all online ticket bookings to confirm they will be fully vaccinated before the Fair.

Kāpiti Food Fair is a Member of the New Zealand Events Association (NZEA) and our intention is to run a large, safe and fun event for every worker and visitor to enjoy. We operate using the Events Sector Voluntary Code.

About:

Kāpiti Food Fair was established in 2008 as a community event with humble beginnings. It is now privately owned and operated in a business partnership between Helene Judge and Jeanine van Kradenburg. The vision of the Fair is about making a lasting impression in the minds and bodies of all foodies. Their mission is to bring visitors to Kāpiti Coast to experience ‘our place’ while having a fun, tasty and indulgent day out with GOOD friends, GOOD times and GOOD food!

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