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Wahi Tukurua – Building a Sustainable Future, One Step at a Time
The Wahi Tukurua volunteer team are kicking off 2025 with a keen focus on waste minimisation, and some exciting initiatives including the opening of a new Resource Recovery Centre for the Mercury Bay area.
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During 2024 Wahi Tukurua partnered with local community individuals and businesses on initiatives to make it easier for people across Mercury Bay to integrate waste minimisation into their everyday lives - and this year will be no exception!
The following report has been kindly provided by the Wahi Tukurua committee.
Wahi Tukurua Committee update - reflecting and future planning
Over the past year, we’ve embarked on an incredible journey to turn waste into action and build a resilient, sustainable future for our community. Every campaign, event, and initiative we’ve undertaken has been a deliberate step towards achieving this vision. As we prepare to open our new Resource Recovery Centre in 2025, it’s the perfect moment to reflect on how far we’ve come—and where we’re headed next.
Thanks to our local community, last year we...
- Won Hauraki Coromandel Business Awards Waste Minimisation – Environmental category and achieved a finalist nomination in the Community Connection category.
- Launched SUCFree Mercury Bay campaign focusing our community on the 250,000 single-use cups going to landfill every year in our area
- Collaborated with 18 Mercury Bay coffee sellers to raise awareness of the single-use cups epidemic and reusable alternative through our Thirsty Thursday campaign
- Stopped 33.7 thousand single use cups getting to landfill in Mercury Bay in 2024
- Hosted 6 e-waste collection events via local market stalls, collecting recyclable material (from small household products like toasters and phone cords to batteries)
- Worked with Seagull Centre and other Resource Recovery Centres across our District to strengthen and unify our approach to big issues like Food Waste Prevention and establishing waste diversion pathways
- Published 8 articles drawing attention to waste minimisation initiatives, participating businesses and the Reuse Revolution campaigns
- Launched Kete Kai, our Food Waste Prevention Cookbook showcasing creative and delicious ways to transform leftovers and everyday ingredients into meals that honour our environment
- Provided information, support and resources for hundreds of stakeholders through korero / conversations at over 12 community markets and industry events
- Regular communications - continued to highlight the issue of single use plastics through our Plastic Free July communications
- World Cleanup Day - Supported over 250 like-minded community members to participate in World Cleanup Day in September, working together to collect over 390 kgs of waste from our local environments
Here’s to another year of teamwork, innovation, and making reuse and recycling the norm. Whether you’re a local authority, retailer, business, school, producer or community group, thank you for being with us on this journey - we can’t wait to see what we’ll achieve together in 2025.
How to get involved
More and more people are joining us in our Wahi Tukurua campaigns and events from the Reuse Revolution (SUCFree and Refill NZ) Plastic Free July and Food Focus (Food Waste Prevention and Kete KaiCookbook) campaigns, but there’s still a long way to go. We’re already planning how to inspire even more people this year – and we want you to be part of it. So, if you have an idea for a project or want to join us in making a difference, drop us a line at hello@wahitukurua.co.nz and let’s make it happen!
Many thanks,
The Wahi Tukurua/ Mercury Bay Resource Recovery Centre Team
Related Links
Wāhi Tukurua – Mercury Bay Resource Recovery Centre Trust-
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