Para Kore Zero Waste Northcote

A Para Kore Zero Waste Northcote programme was set up, led by Kaipātiki Project, in partnership with mana whenua, and funded by us, Auckland Council and Kaipātiki Local Board.

An action plan was developed:

• To establish Northcote as an exemplar community, to maximise waste recovery and have little or no waste going to landfill.
• To encourage people to see waste as a resource and reduce waste by designing this out at every stage of Northcote’s development.
• To integrate the action plan with the vision of Pare Kore Aotearoa and Auckland Council, and mana whenua’s aspirations for a zero-waste future.
• To form the basis for embedding zero-waste actions within Northcote, with our community of partners and stakeholders leading and contributing to relevant workstreams.

Northcote’s Zero Waste programme has been developed alongside the Northcote community. This has included working with the kindergarten and local schools to help educate students, as well as working with the Northcote Business Association and local businesses, and local residents.

The Zero Waste Hub ran from June 2021 until August 2023, to help locals reduce their waste. It was highly successful over the two years of its operation, helping to collect many thousands of items for recycling, including over 200kgs household batteries, as well as cellphones, tablets, Colgate oral care products, ink cartridges, polystyrene, and curtains. A team, that included more than 50 volunteers, also did an amazing job educating and encouraging locals on their own zero waste journey.

The Para Kora Zero Waste Northcote programme has now shifted into a new exciting phase – taking the zero waste massage more into the community, to grow the commitment to zero waste across the whole of the Northcote neighbourhood.

Rather than a fixed Zero Waste Hub in the Northcote Town Centre, there is now more community-focused events and activities within the neighbourhood to better connect and respond to locals’ needs. The team are reaching out to the schools, community groups, churches, and local businesses, to support and collaborate on local zero waste initiatives. The aim is to provide knowledge from experts and create fun events to help make it as easy as possible for everyone to get involved.

Keep an eye on this What’s On page for upcoming events. You’ll find details of how you can continue to recycle unusual items locally here.

As part of Northcote’s Para Kore Zero Waste action plan, new reserves along Te Ara Awataha are litter bin-free areas. A bin-free approach to the local reserves was recommended by waste experts as the best way to move towards our vision of being zero-waste by 2040.

People are encouraged to respect their environment and their community by minimising waste, taking rubbish home with them, and recycling where possible. Most whānau find this easy and do not leave any rubbish behind.

There are regular checks to make sure to make sure rubbish does not become an issue. If you see litter, call:

• 09 301 0101 to report this.
• 0800 NO DUMP (0800 663 867) to report illegally dumped rubbish.

The staged construction of Northcote's new town centre, starting in 2027, is being led by us and it will be our largest para kore zero waste project to date. With our partners, we will be implementing the principles of zero-waste during de-construction and construction. This will include recycling and reusing construction material wherever possible.

• Recycle, reuse, and repurpose waste. For example, take a reusable container when you go into the town centre for a takeaway or remembering your water bottle and keep cup for your coffee can all help.
• Compost or keep food scraps out of the rubbish. This is a great way to reduce waste. Auckland Council is delivering food scraps bins to houses in Northcote soon, so you’ll be able to start collecting food waste, if you’re not composing already.
• Take rubbish home with you and recycle this where possible. This will help protect our environment.
• Think twice about new purchases. This will help reduce to reduce waste.